The WGA East and West are named as plaintiffs against Paramount Skydance (led by David Ellison) and Warner Bros. Discovery. The state coalition includes New York, Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, New Jersey, Minnesota, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. The Justice Department approved the merger last month, and President Trump has voiced support for the deal—a headwind for the state attorneys general mounting the challenge.
Attorneys tracking this deal should monitor the compressed timeline. Ellison has set a September deadline to close the transaction, driven by shareholder payout obligations and mounting legal costs. The combined entity would control approximately 60 percent of the potential blockbuster film market and nearly 60 percent of U.S. pay-TV channels, leaving Disney as the only major competitor. The dual litigation from state governments and organized labor represents a significant escalation in industry resistance and materially increases the risk that regulatory approval becomes contingent on structural concessions or divestitures.