What happened
Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield is asking a Multnomah County judge to force Paramount Skydance Corporation to turn over records tied to the state's investigation of its proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and to pause the deal's closing while the review continues.
The Oregon Department of Justice said Tuesday that Rayfield is filing a motion seeking an order requiring Paramount to comply with the state's records request and barring the company from closing the transaction for 60 days after it substantially complies. No court ruling is included in the available source materials.
Oregon DOJ says it has been investigating the proposed merger since it was announced in February. The agency said its June records request sought documents about Paramount's lobbying of federal officials in support of the deal, its role in a U.S. Department of Justice statement approving the merger, and an internal effort the company calls Project Warrior.
According to Oregon DOJ, Paramount has not complied with the request. The agency says the company declined to accept service, waited weeks to respond and sent objections on the day its documents were due, which the state characterizes as a tactic to avoid producing records.
Rayfield framed the dispute as a state-level competition and consumer-review issue, saying, "Oregonians have a real stake in this deal – in our film industry, in our economy, in the choices they’ll have as consumers."
The state says Paramount has told Oregon it does not intend to close the deal before July 16, but has not agreed to hold off longer while the investigation continues. Oregon DOJ said it planned to present the motion in person in Multnomah County Court on July 8 at 1:30 p.m.