Pacific Scientific Sues Applied Color Systems

Pacific Scientific Co. said Monday that it had filed a civil lawsuit against a competitor that it claims has violated antitrust laws through alleged “exclusionary and predatory conduct” to preserve a monopoly of the digital computer color-matching market.

Filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland, the suit accuses Applied Color Systems Inc., a Princeton, N. J., subsidiary of Armstrong World Industries Inc., of spreading rumors “throughout the market . . . damaging Pacific Scientific’s credibility in the marketplace.”

The suit seeks injunctive relief, actual damages and punitive damages, Pacific Scientific officials said. The exact amount of damages sought was not available. Officials of the two companies could not be reached.