UPDATE 3-US Justice Dept says no plans to drop UBS case

* Says no basis for newspaper report

* Always willing to consider settlement

* July 13 hearing scheduled in Miami federal court (Adds further legal comment in paragraphs 6, 15-17)

By Kim Dixon and James Vicini

WASHINGTON, June 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department said it was not planning to drop its lawsuit seeking to force UBS AG (UBSN.VX) (UBS.N) to disclose thousands of the Swiss bank's U.S. customers with secret accounts.

"There is no basis for the report in The New York Times," a Justice Department spokesman said in a statement Tuesday after the newspaper reported the case might be dropped, citing an unnamed U.S. official briefed on the matter.

The U.S. government sued UBS in February in U.S. District Court in Florida, seeking the names of 52,000 Americans suspected of using the bank to hide nearly $15 billion in assets and evade U.S. taxes.

"While the department is always willing to consider settlement in any case, the suggestion that the department is planning to drop this suit is simply untrue. The department is continuing with the case against UBS and will file its brief asking the court to enforce the summons on June 30," spokesman Charles Miller said.

A U.S. filing on the matter is due June 30 and a hearing before a judge in Miami is set for July 13.