Twelve state attorneys general on Monday asked a federal judge to temporarily block Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by issuing a temporary restraining order.
In a filing obtained and viewed by TheWrap, attorneys general from the states of California, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Washington, requested “a temporary restraining order against Defendants Paramount Skydance Corp. (‘Paramount’) and Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (‘Warner Bros.’) temporarily enjoining and restraining Defendants from closing or consummating Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. or taking any steps to integrate or consolidate their operations, and an order for Defendants to show cause as to why a preliminary injunction should not issue.”
“Defendants have represented to counsel for the State of California that they may close and consummate the Transaction as soon as July 22, 2026,” the filing added. “Immediate relief from the Court is necessary to preserve the status quo and to protect this Court’s ability to order appropriate relief upon a finding that the Transaction is unlawful.”
The move came as California Attorney General Rob Bonta appeared on CNN and shared the filing would be coming “imminently” to “make sure that the proposed merger is halted during the pendency of the litigation.”
“We have asked Paramount-Warner Bros. to agree not to close their deal, their proposed merger until the court can evaluate the merits of our case,” Bonta told Kaitlan Collins. “They declined to do that. So, we will be filing a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction later today to make sure that the proposed merger is halted during the pendency of the litigation.”
Watch his comments below. A representative for Paramount did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
News: @AGRobBonta tells @kaitlancollins that his office is filing for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against Paramount-WBD “later today” to “make sure that the proposed merger is halted during the pendency of the litigation.” pic.twitter.com/W4MdQx3vJd
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) July 14, 2026
The latest legal maneuver came hours after Bonta and 11 other state attorneys general sued to block the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Bonta led the charge with the filing, blasting the merger as “unlawful.”
“Today, I am leading 12 states in challenging the proposed merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount and asking the court to block the deal,” Bonta said in a statement earlier on Monday. “California’s film and entertainment industry touches the lives of Americans daily. We’re going to court to fight for a free and fair market and protect this iconic industry.”
The state AGs have argued that the merger would create an entertainment giant with increased leverage over movie theaters, as well as cable and streaming platforms.
However, a Paramount spokesperson defended that they plan to “vigorously defend the transaction and demonstrate that this challenge is inconsistent with sound competition policy and the competitive realities of the media marketplace.”
“Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers,” the spokesperson continued at the time, “who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.”
The state AGs have received support from both New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Cinema United, with Mamdani notably claiming on X that this was “not a merger that serves the public.”
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