Introduction: When one thinks of violations of federal antitrust laws including the Sherman Act and the Clayton Act, one normally thinks about monopolies. When a company has a monopoly on a product or service, it can control and coordinate the prices or quantities of the goods and services available to consumers in order to maximize the profits it makes. Other types of business activities violate federal antitrust laws. One such activity involves a tying arrangement. This is an agreement requiring that as a precondition for purchasing the products or services consumers want that other services or products must be also be purchased from the seller. Not all tying arrangements are unlawful, but some tying arrangements violate the Clayton Acts.
According to Mark Taylor an article published by Modern Healthcare (2005), Hillenbrand and its subsidiaries have agreed in principle to settle a class-action antitrust lawsuit filed against it on behalf of hospitals that have purchased or rented Hill-Rom products since 1990. The plaintiffs alleged that Hillenbrand illegally bundled pricing for its products, including standard and specialty hospital beds and in-room products. Thousands of hospitals may be eligible for a portion of the $337 million private antitrust settlement. This settlement is subject to court approval, the signing of a definitive agreement and notification to all claimants. The funds will be allocated to the plaintiffs according to a court-approved formula. Hillenbrand said that it had signed the proposed settlement while denying allegations of wrongdoing, but as part of this settlement Hillenbrand agreed to refrain from bundling pricing for its standard and specialty products.
According to Taylor, one industry analyst suggested that the market outcome in the hospital industry would be lower overall costs to hospitals for the group of products that Hillenbrand currently supplies. Another market outcome would be th
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