AT&T Bid for White House/DOJ Communications in Antitrust Suit Denied
A federal court rejected AT&T's request for White House-DOJ communications about its proposed buy of Time Warner. In a docket 17-2511 order (in Pacer) Monday, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of Washington said AT&T fell "far short" of showing the…
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DOJ lawsuit seeking to block AT&T/TW was selective. He said precedent established there's a bar to be met before obtaining discovery on a selective enforcement defense, and it's difficult to imagine a selective enforcement defense in an antitrust context since deals have to be viewed in the context of a particular industry and the transaction's size and structure. Leon said AT&T's use of Comcast/NBCUniversal as comparison for its selective enforcement claim is "unavailing" since Justice filed an enforcement action to enjoin the deal. Leon said "history belies the notion" regulators never before found antitrust problems with proposed vertical deals or insisted on structural remedies as a settlement condition. "So while it may, indeed, be a rare breed of horse, it is not exactly a unicorn," he said. In a statement, AT&T/TW outside counsel Dan Petrocelli of O'Melveny said, "We respect the judge’s decision and look forward to the upcoming trial." The trial is to begin March 19 (see 1712070067).