
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 16, 1990                   TAG: 9005160096
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: -A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: ROANOKE                                LENGTH: Short

EX-COLEMAN PRESIDENT SUES BANK

The former president of Coleman Furniture Co. said Tuesday he is seeking $25 million from North Carolina National Bank for allegedly overcharging interest on loans and forcing the Pulaski company to go bankrupt.

A jury in U.S. District Court began hearing the breach-of-contract case Monday and the trial is expected to last through Friday.

Joe Shumate Jr., 60, who is representing himself before Judge Glen Williams, said NCNB charged Coleman excessive interest from 1978 through November 1982.

Stephen Hodges, an Abingdon lawyer representing NCNB, said the interest charged on the loans during the four years, $388,198, was in line with the contract terms and had no significant impact on the company's failure.

Coleman Furniture's sales plummeted from $18 million to $7 million, and that is what led to the bankruptcy, Hodges said Tuesday during a break in testimony. Pulaski Furniture Corp. bought Coleman Furniture from a trustee after the company declared bankruptcy.

- Associated Press

by CNB