A federal judge has approved Paramount’s settlement with a coalition of states challenging its Warner buyout, removing one of the most significant legal obstacles to the transaction’s closing. U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín found the proposed consent decree to be a fair resolution of the states’ allegations that the deal could harm competition.

For deal lawyers and antitrust practitioners, the ruling is notable not just because it keeps a major media-industry transaction on track, but because it underscores how merger challenges can be resolved through negotiated structural or behavioral commitments rather than prolonged injunction litigation.

A federal judge has approved Paramount’s settlement with 12 states that challenged the company’s takeover of Warner Bros., clearing a significant hurdle for the transaction and offering a useful look at how state antitrust scrutiny can shape major media deals.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín concluded that the proposed consent decree was a fair and reasonable resolution to the states’ competitive concerns.

The Justice Department has filed a proposed consent decree in the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas to resolve alleged Clean Water Act violations arising from the 2022 Keystone Pipeline rupture in Kansas. The case targets the owner and operator of the pipeline system, now associated with South Bow, and centers on one of the most closely watched pipeline spill events in recent years.

According to the government, the settlement would address civil environmental claims tied to the rupture and the operator’s spill-response obligations.