FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CIV
TUESDAY, JUNE 11, 1996                             (202) 616-2765
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

                                 
          CANADIAN FIRM SETTLES OFFICE FURNITURE LAWSUIT

     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Canadian manufacturer of office
furniture that has filed for bankruptcy has agreed to accept a
claim by the United States of $873,000 Canadian (approximately
$642,000 in U.S. dollars) to settle claims it did not give the
federal government the same discount it gave commercial
customers, the Department of Justice announced today.  The actual
amount the government will receive will be determined at the
conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings.
     Assistant Attorney General Frank W. Hunger of the Civil
Division said Precision Manufacturing, Inc. of Montreal, Quebec,
which has filed for bankruptcy in Montreal, was required to
disclose the discount to government negotiators while negotiating
the $8.9 million contract.
     Precision, which manufactures interlocking wall and desk
units that form an office working space, gave the government a
discount about 5 percent less than it gave commercial customers. 
     The agreement settles a complaint filed by the United States
against Precision in U.S. District Court in Chicago, where the
company maintains a sales office, alleging violations of the
False Claims Act.
     Under the bankruptcy proceedings, a trustee, Poissant
Thibault-Peat Marwick Thorne, Inc., will transfer Precision's
assets to Kurt R. Miller Consulting Ltd., which will sell them to
Jami Inc., a Kansas furniture manufacturer.  Poissant Thibault
will pay all unsecured creditors, including the United States,
from the proceeds.  
                              #####
96-267