Judge Dismisses Consumer Suit Challenging Paramount–Warner Bros. Deal

Overview

• A federal judge dismissed the consumer antitrust lawsuit on Wednesday for lack of standing while giving the five plaintiffs leave to file a revised complaint.
• Judge Araceli Martínez‑Olguín said the plaintiffs offered only one concrete injury — a single past Paramount+ price increase — and that the alleged harms were not shown to be suffered the same way by all five.
• The judge continues to preside over separate challenges from a coalition of 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America that remain scheduled for a 12‑day merits trial beginning March 2, 2027.
• The merger stay will remain in effect until five days after that trial or June 1, 2027, a timeline that increases commercial pressure from contractual ticking fees and potential breakup costs for Paramount Skydance.
• The deal is still split across regulators: the DOJ cleared the transaction in June while some foreign authorities have conditional approvals and others are still reviewing the roughly $110–111 billion merger.