Overview
- On Monday, August 17, Paramount filed a motion asking Judge Araceli Martinez‑Olguin to require the 12 state attorneys general and the Writers Guild of America to post a $1,884,726,092.73 bond by Sept. 30 so the company can recover delay-related losses if it wins at trial.
- Paramount says the figure reflects roughly $1.3 billion in unrecoverable 'ticking fees' that start Oct. 1 at about $7 million per day, plus roughly $190 million in extra financing costs, which together underpin its $1.88 billion calculation.
- The plaintiffs have pushed back sharply: California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office called the request a bid for a 'do‑over' and described public threats from Paramount executives as an attempt to 'blackmail' the states into settling.
- The request reopens a question Judge Martinez‑Olguin previously resolved when she waived a bond while issuing a temporary restraining order, and the court is scheduled to hear Paramount’s motion in late September with a merits trial set to begin March 2, 2027.
- The dispute layers commercial pressure onto a legal fight that already divides regulators and the industry, since 68 foreign and national authorities cleared the deal while the state‑led Clayton Act challenge remains the single domestic barrier that could block closing and affect jobs, content investment and studio operations.