California's attorney general is defending an antitrust lawsuit that aims to prevent David Ellison from completing his acquisition of Paramount and combining it with Warner Bros. Discovery. The case, led by Rob Bonta alongside attorneys general from other states, could require the sale of substantial media assets and impose ticking-clock fees exceeding $1 billion before the trial begins in March. A federal judge has permitted the lawsuit to proceed without major obstacles, and the presiding judge has made rulings that favor the states' position thus far.

Ellison has responded with an aggressive campaign including public advocacy, a threat to relocate Paramount's operations out of California, and a recent court motion seeking to make California taxpayers liable for merger-delay costs if the states lose. In an interview, Bonta dismissed these tactics as ineffective, noting that a judge had already rejected the bonding argument and characterizing Ellison's overall strategy as signs of weakness rather than genuine leverage. Bonta stated the threatened relocation has exerted no pressure on his office, though he acknowledged that some entertainment industry unions have recently shifted their support toward the merger, a development that could complicate the states' legal position.