Allergan Sues Rival Over Lens-Implant Device : Lawsuit: The Irvine-based manufacturer seeks unspecified monetary damages for the alleged patent infringement.

Allergan Inc., a manufacturer of eye and skin products, said Monday that it filed a lawsuit in federal court against a Monrovia competitor alleging violation of a 5-year-old patent on an optical surgical tool.

In the suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, Allergan charges Staar Surgical Co. Inc. with patent infringement of a device that inserts artificial lenses into eyes after cataract surgery. Allergan asks a federal judge to order Staar to stop manufacturing and selling its own lens-implanting device. The suit also seeks unspecified monetary damages and “lost profits.”

“They are selling and using a very similar product,” said Allergan spokesman Michael Timmermann, “which we think infringes on the patents.”

Allergan, which is not manufacturing the device now, bought the patent in 1987 from its inventor, Michael Bartell. Timmermann said he does not know specifically how the Staar product allegedly infringes on the Allergan device.

Staar Chairman Lamar Laster said that his company had not yet been served with the lawsuit. He said that the Allergan suit is an attempt to “deflect a powerful lawsuit we have against them” and to force the smaller company to spend money defending itself.

“It’s a frivolous lawsuit by Allergan,” Laster said, “in an attempt to gain leverage in our litigation.”

Staar filed a suit against Allergan last year, charging the Irvine company with patent infringement on a foldable artificial lens and a method to tack it to the eye during cataract surgery, Laster said.

He said that Michael Bartell is a former Staar employee who, while working for the company, developed the device that was eventually sold to Allergan. He did not say whether that point will be a basis for Staar’s defense of the Allergan suit.

Staar is waiting for a trial date for its own suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.