San Francisco Supervisors Consider Office Depot Overbilling Settlement
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - San Francisco's proposed $4.25 million settlement with Office Depot has been put in the hands of the members of the Board of Supervisors.
The proposed settlement stems from San Francisco's claims that Office Depot over-billed the city for supplies.
KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:
San Francisco had a long-term, $18 million contract with Office Depot to purchase everything from pens to paperclips. Initially, it appeared that all was going well, until the City Controller conducted an audit and discovered that San Francisco had not received $5.75 million in promised discounts.
Late last year, Office Depot and City Attorney Dennis Herrera reached a $4.25 million settlement over the apparent over-billing.
"I think it was an excellent rate of return," declared Herrera. "And we were able to secure a very, very good result without having to incur the additional attorneys fees that we would have had to have, had we litigated this case."
"It was the product of a long and arduous negotiation. San Francisco fared much better than many other jurisdictions and I think that was because we were as aggressive in negotiations as we were."
Specifically, Office Depot had also been accused of over-billing the State of California. The company has agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle that claim.
San Francisco supervisors are expected to approve Herrera's proposed settlement within a few weeks.
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