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