Paramount Global seeks a November trial date for antitrust lawsuit while state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America propose April.
Paramount Global has requested a November trial date to resolve the antitrust lawsuit brought by a dozen state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America. The company aims to the start of the proceedings in November to avoid a $7 million daily penalty for every day the merger with Warner Bros. Discovery remains unclosed after September 30. Rob Bonta, leading the 12 states in the lawsuit, argued that an April start is necessary to conduct thorough discovery, including depositions of percipient fact witnesses and testing Paramount's claims of billions in synergies. The state attorneys general and the WGA contend that the current proposed schedule is one-terminally one-sided, favoring the defendant. Paramount's legal team argued that the November date is sufficient and that the April request is a stonewalling tactic. They noted that the states had already received over two million documents during the pre-complaint phase. The company maintains that the transaction is lawful and pro-competitive, and a delay until April would leave the creative community in a period of uncertainty.