The antitrust laws were designed to protect consumers and promote competition in the free enterprise system. Antitrust activity exists when an entity, or corporation, enters into anti-competitive agreements, obtains or maintains monopoly power by means that harm consumers or abuses its monopoly power.

The following are examples of some things that may violate the antitrust laws:

• Agreeing with a competitor to hold the price of similar products or services at, above, or below agreed-upon levels ("price-fixing")
• Agreeing with a competitor not to compete in a particular geographic area
• Lowering prices below cost to drive a competitor out of business ("predatory pricing")
• Requiring a buyer to buy something that he does not want in order to buy something that he does want ("tying")

Abbey Spanier serves as interim co-lead class counsel on behalf of pharmacies, hospitals and other purchasers of hypodermic products manufactured by Becton Dickinson. Becton Dickinson has been able to maintain a monopoly in the disposable hypodermic products market by unreasonably restraining trade and foreclosing competition through anticompetitive and illegal actions. As a result of Becton's anticompetitive actions, plaintiffs and other persons have paid more for their disposable hypodermic product purchases. In In Re Hypodermic Products Antitrust Litig., MDL No. 1730 (D. N.J.)