Class actions filed this month accuse Juul Labs Inc. and Altria Group Inc. of illegally monopolizing the market for electronic cigarettes in violation of federal antitrust laws.

More than half a dozen lawsuits allege that Altria, as part of its 2018 agreement to acquire 35% of Juul, dropped out of the closed system e-cigarette market. The class actions, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on behalf of a nationwide class of Juul purchasers, come after the Federal Trade Commission on April 1 filed an administrative complaint against both companies for violating federal antitrust laws through two agreements in 2018 and an amended agreement in 2020.