The jury found Thursday that the four companies were negligent and misrepresented the quality of the plumbing.

The suit contends, among other things, that the company misrepresented the health of the operations and future prospects to inflate the price of the stock.

In some cases, she said, companies misrepresented the condition of patients, stating, for example, that women were bedridden when they actually walked from the ambulance into the hospital.

The penalties stemmed from 15 instances in which the company misrepresented its lobbying expenses from 1996 to 1998.

It also found the company had misrepresented the safety of the device.

In one instance, he said, documents in a Michigan case against Dow Corning suggest that the company misrepresented a study of dogs.

The suits say the companies have effectively misrepresented themselves by focusing attention on the sweepstakes when their real business is to sell subscriptions.

Mr. Nauth also found that one company misrepresented its environmental record on the application for an exemption.

For example, the complaint contends that the companies improperly misrepresented operating expenses, which are reimbursed at a low rate, as being highly compensated capital costs.

In addition, stockholders have filed a federal class action suit claiming the company misrepresented its earnings to artificially inflate the price of its stock.