WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Mississippi door company was charged with participating in a conspiracy to fix the prices of residential flush doors, according to the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division.

Southwood Door Company of Quitman, Mississippi, was charged yesterday with participating with a co-conspirator in a price-fixing conspiracy for sales of eight-foot solid core and bifold Colonist-style doors in the southeastern United States from the spring of 1993 to the summer of 1994.

This is the fifth case filed as a result of the Antitrust Division's investigation into collusive practices in the $600 million residential flush door industry. Residential flush doors are made of flat wood that can be covered with various types of door facings and are used primarily in residential basements, bedrooms and bathrooms. They are sold to U.S. door distributors and wholesalers, home improvement centers and residential construction companies.

Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, said that the charges, filed in the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Florida, arose in connection with a grand jury investigation in Tampa into collusive practices by flush door manufacturers. The continuing investigation is being conducted by the Division's Litigation I Section with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted of a violation of the Sherman Act is the greatest of a $10 million fine, twice the gross pecuniary gain the corporation derived from the crime or twice the gross pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the crime.