Paramount seeks extended evidentiary hearing as judge considers injunction on Warner Bros. Discovery deal
Paramount has asked a federal judge to schedule a three-day evidentiary hearing in August while she decides whether to grant a preliminary injunction that would pause the company's acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
A federal judge has set a hearing for Aug. 3 to consider a preliminary injunction that could block Paramount Global’s planned purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery. The judge previously issued a two-week temporary restraining order after California and 11 other states filed an antitrust lawsuit.
Paramount’s lawyers have asked that a three-day evidentiary hearing be held the week of Aug. 17 or Aug. 24, and they are willing to extend the restraining order through the court’s final decision. The company argues that the states are seeking a “preliminary injunction” that would halt the merger for at least eight months without allowing a full hearing on the factual issues.
In its filing, Paramount contended that the case raises disputes over market definition, competitive dynamics, barriers to expansion and incentives, which an evidentiary hearing could resolve. The firm warned that a prolonged injunction could trigger a $7 million-per-day “ticking fee” after Sept. 30, potentially costing Paramount more than $1 billion in fees and other expenses.
The court’s briefing schedule requires the state attorneys general to file opening briefs by Thursday, with Paramount’s response due the following Monday; the states must reply by July 30. Paramount proposed a slightly later schedule for its own briefs.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said it is reviewing the filing and will respond as appropriate. State counsel James Weingarten, who opposed an earlier scheduling proposal, said that having “two experts in a food fight in a month will just waste everyone’s time and resources, if it’s even possible.”
The Writers Guild of America has also filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in a separate lawsuit and seeks to align its hearing with the states’ Aug. 3 schedule, though Paramount says that timing is not feasible and suggests a later August date.