San Mateo County shares in $68.8M Office Depot settlement

The settlement signed and filed in Los Angeles Superior Court late Tuesday ends a whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Office Depot Employee David Sherwin alleging the company failed to give most of its California government customers the lowest price as required by contract.

The affected customers participated in a purchasing program in which state and local governments nationwide leverage their combined buying power by having one entity negotiate a vendor contract on behalf of all. However, according to the suit, Office Depot gave the California entities a lower discount rate.

“Not only did Office Depot allegedly overcharge California entities ... it also instructed company account managers to manipulate their government customers into agreeing to purchases that were much more expensive than the contract allowed,” attorney Eric R. Havian said in a prepared statement.

Sherwin died from cancer last year after testifying in the lawsuit so his estate will receive the whistle-blower award

Sherwin’s “insider knowledge and his determination to do the right thing were the most important factors in bringing Office Depot’s alleged misconduct to light,” his attorney Stephen Hasegawa said in a prepared statement.