Paramount Agrees to States' Move to Link Antitrust Case to Subscriber Suit

Key Points:

• Paramount has agreed to link a federal antitrust case brought by 12 states challenging its $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery to an existing lawsuit filed by Paramount+ subscribers, likely consolidating the cases before Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin in Oakland.
• The states, led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, are seeking a temporary restraining order and injunction to prevent the merger from closing, arguing it would harm competition and increase prices.
• Judge Martinez-Olguin, a Biden appointee with a background in civil rights law, is scheduled to hear motions related to the subscribers' lawsuit, including a preliminary injunction and Paramount’s motion to dismiss the case.
• The states’ case was initially assigned to Judge P. Casey Pitts, also a Biden appointee, who is overseeing other major antitrust cases, including a merger challenge involving Hewlett Packard Enterprises and Juniper Networks.
• Pitts previously litigated in support of the Writers Guild of America in a high-profile case against talent agencies over illegal packaging fees, a case that parallels some of the antitrust issues raised in the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger dispute.