DOJ Asks for Expedited Appeal of AT&T/TW, Proposes Briefing Schedule

D.C. Circuit. Every day that passes where AT&T and TW can weave together the two businesses "make[s] it more difficult for this Court and the district court on remand to unwind the merger and preserve competition," DOJ said. It said the public has an interest in quick resolution that will further clarify law governing vertical deal reviews, especially given an expected wave of such combinations in the media and telecom industries. The agency said U.S. District Judge Richard Leon's approval of the deal (see 1806120060) was in error when he effectively discarded "well-accepted and non-controversial economic principles of bargaining." It said the lower court was reversible when it ignored "economic reasoning" that New AT&T is less vulnerable to economic harm in the event of a blackout of its content on a rival MVPD system and thus New AT&T can and will hold out for higher fees than it would have before the transaction. Justice said the lower court made a reversible error in ignoring that New AT&T would maximize its corporate-wide profit instead of having Turner and DirecTV operate independently at the expense of overall New AT&T profit. The department said AT&T wasn't opposed to a schedule that would have the government's opening brief due Aug. 6, AT&T's due Sept. 20, the government's reply brief due Oct. 11 and final briefs due Oct. 18. DOJ requested oral argument "as soon as practicable" after briefing.