Could David Ellison and Rob Bonta finally be coming to the negotiation table? According to Deadline, an Oakland judge has instructed the two parties to sit down for mediation at the end of October. The meeting will be two days and is part of standard operating procedures for federal lawsuits. The parties set the mediation date during a virtual hearing yesterday.
Currently, the trial start date is set for March 2027. Starting October 1st, Paramount will be required to pay a $7 million-a-day ticking fee to shareholders.
The judges have ordered both parties to put together a schedule and not simply run through the motions. The states have resisted mediation so far, with several major sticking points in the current deal. On the other hand, Paramount has tried to force a deal by threatening to leave the state and filing a motion for an almost $2 billion bond. The WGA, the co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, called the threats from Paramount “precisely why the merger should be blocked”. A settlement meeting was set for August, but reports indicated it was nothing more than PR from both sides. The meeting was quickly canceled after Bonta accused Paramount of leaking information to the press. Paramount has denied any claims indicating they leaked information.
Several prominent figures both in California government and the entertainment industry have called for compromise. California Governor Gavin Newsom and the Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass both spoke out and asked both sides to find a resolution. Christopher Nolan (The Odyssey, The Dark Night) and Tom Cruise (Eyes Wide Shut, Mission Impossible) made similar statements.
Bonta was quick to dispel any rumors that this meeting indicates they are close to a settlement: “A court-ordered settlement conference means the judge required both sides to meet, but it does not indicate a settlement is in progress. This is standard course in a case of this magnitude, ” his office told Deadline.
Paramount also responded to mediation, “We appreciate today’s conference before the magistrate judge and the court’s attention to this. We continue to remain open to working constructively with plaintiffs on a speedy resolution so that we can close the transaction and deliver its pro-competitive benefits to creators and consumers alike,” a spokesperson told Deadline.
The coalition of states led by California and Bonta is still facing a countersuit from Iowa and Montana. The Supreme Court has required the 12 states to submit a response to the lawsuit by September 25th, a month before the mediation meeting.