Suit Prompts Inquiry Into Price-Fixing : Car alarms: The district attorney’s office is investigating allegations against four manufacturers of automobile security systems.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is investigating allegations that a Van Nuys car alarm manufacturer was involved in a scheme to fix prices for alarms, according to court records.

The investigation was alleged in a lawsuit filed by Magnum Auto Security Systems, a Chatsworth car alarm company, against the Van Nuys company, Precision Electronic Engineering. Magnum’s suit alleges that Precision and three other companies agreed to sell car alarm systems that were similar to Magnum’s at a fixed price.

A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office confirmed that Magnum is cooperating in an investigation of alleged price-fixing in auto security systems. The district attorney has targeted Precision in that investigation, according to a declaration made by Richard Goldston, a senior investigator with the district attorney’s office, as part of a separate lawsuit.

According to court records, Goldston served a search warrant on Precision and seized documents on March 30.

When Magnum wouldn’t go along with the price-fixing scheme, the competitors intimidated Magnum employees and even threw rocks through a window of one Magnum employee’s house, according to Magnum’s suit, filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles on Aug. 20.

Besides Precision, the other defendants in that suit are B&B; Associates of Sherman Oaks, Delta Vehicle Security in Glendale and David Levy Co. in Paramount. Precision made similar alarm systems for Magnum and the other companies, and all four companies then marketed the alarms under different names, the suit says.

Principals for Precision and the other companies named in Magnum’s suit declined to comment, saying that they had not seen Magnum’s complaint.

Magnum’s Superior Court lawsuit says the problems between the rival car alarm companies began early in 1989 when Precision, B&B;, Delta and David Levy Co. allegedly met to agree on a price for their alarm systems.

They met again to set prices in June, the Magnum suit asserts.

In the fall of 1989, one of B&B;’s principals called a Magnum employee, Alex Low, and threatened him with bodily harm if Magnum did not raise its prices, Magnum’s suit contends.

One of Precision’s principals subsequently threatened to ship Magnum defective alarms if Magnum would not cooperate, the suit says.

Low then allegedly reported the threats to the district attorney. Low secretly recorded conversations with some of Magnum’s competitors as part of the district attorney’s investigation, according to Magnum’s suit.

In December, Precision sued Magnum in Municipal Court in Van Nuys, claiming that Magnum owed it $15,540 for several shipments of car alarms.

But Magnum claimed it had not paid for the shipments because Precision had deliberately sent defective alarms after Magnum had refused to go along with the alleged price-fixing.

A Municipal Court judge ruled in May that Magnum should pay about $2,500 to Precision, but then agreed to grant Precision a retrial in which it can present a rebuttal to Magnum’s defense.