Two Republican attorneys general are hoping the Supreme Court will step in to stop the antitrust lawsuit filed by 12 Democratic state AGs seeking to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and Montana AG Austin Knudsen filed a motion with the Supreme Court, naming California and the 11 other states party to the Paramount lawsuit as defendants. The suit was filed on Tuesday, Aug. 25, according to Bird’s office.
The development will test the Supreme Court’s interpretation of its authority to settle inter-state disputes. Supreme Court is the court of original jurisdiction for issues among states for things like boundary disputes and water rights, and it’s not clear the court will agree to hear the motion filed by Iowa and Montana. Iowa and Montana argue in their lawsuit that they have no other venue to sue California and the 11 other states than the Supreme Court to resolve “a controversy between sovereigns.” “Twelve states have effectively vetoed a transaction that the other thirty-eight, and the United States, declined to challenge,” the Iowa and Montana motion says.
Congress made this Court’s jurisdiction over controversies between two or more states exclusive. … This Court is not merely the best forum for this controversy. It is the only one.” The harms of the California-led antitrust lawsuit will have an impact on Iowa and Montana’s economies, they argue, “especially the tens of thousands of employees of Paramount and Warner Bros., as well as hundreds of millions who watch their movies, shows, and news through a variety of sources. Iowans and Montanans are being deprived of the benefits of the deal that DOJ and their own state attorneys general approved.” “This case is about the legal limits on politicized antitrust enforcement by a small handful of states seeking to enjoin a $110 billion merger that the United States, most American states, and competition regulators worldwide have cleared,” Iowa and Montana’s filing continues.
Because they have the same interest, they should be able to litigate the issue, but can only do so here.” Variety has reached out to the California AG’s office for comment. In the 56-page filing, Iowa and Montana argue the 12-state antitrust suit “burdens the national economy, harms Plaintiff States’ quasi-sovereign interests, and conflicts with the federal antitrust enforcement regime.” The Iowa and Montana suit argue that the Supreme Court should “enjoin the Defendant States’ suit and decide the issue for itself, ensuring a prompt and fair adjudication of the merger.” A copy of the filing is available at this link. Iowa’s Bird penned an op-ed for The Daily Wire that was published Tuesday about her intention to turn to the Supreme Court to challenge the Democratic state AGs’ antitrust suit.
And once again California is defying common sense to raise costs around the country,” Bird wrote. Iowa and Montana also filed a motion with the Supreme Court to expedite consideration of the motion for leave to file a bill of complaint. They requested setting defendant states’ deadline to respond for Sept. 15, 2026, and distributing the case for an Oct. 9 conference.
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