UPS to pay $25 mln to settle some allegations over delivery times

(Adds comment from UPS and plaintiff's lawyer)

WASHINGTON, May 19 (Reuters) - UPS has agreed to pay $25 million to settle some allegations that it submitted false claims to the U.S. government in an attempt to hide late deliveries, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday and released by the U.S. Department of Justice.

United Parcel Service Inc, known as UPS, allegedly hid the fact that it was late to deliver packages, keeping customers from being eligible for refunds, according to the documents.

A former employee of UPS, Robert Fulk, was a whistleblower in the suit who alleged UPS knowingly recorded inaccurate delivery times from 2004 to 2014 on packages guaranteed for next-day delivery, the department said. UPS also wrote down codes such as "security delay" and "customer not in" that were false, it added.

Julie Grohovsky, of law firm Wu, Grohovsky and Whipple that represented Fulk, said her client was brushed off when he questioned his manager about the false reports on late deliveries. Fulk left the company before he filed the lawsuit.

UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg said the company negotiated the settlement to avoid lengthy and costly litigation, but it has not acknowledged liability.

"UPS values its relationships with all of its customers and continues to be a valued supplier in good standing with federal and state governments," Rosenberg said in a statement to Reuters.

The federal government as well as nineteen states, the District of Columbia and the cities of Chicago and New York were also plaintiffs in the suit.

The $25 million payment from UPS covers its settlement with the federal government and the state of New Jersey. Litigation continues between UPS and the remaining states and cities, according to Wu, Grohovsky and Whipple.

(Reporting by Julia Edwards; Editing by Susan Heavey and Christian Plumb)