Paramount Skydance’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery has encountered its first major legal setback after a judge temporarily halted the merger following a lawsuit filed by state attorneys general.

U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín of California granted the temporary restraining order on Monday after hearing arguments from both sides during a Friday hearing in Oakland.

The order pauses any further action on the proposed merger for 14 days.

Paramount did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while Warner Bros. declined to comment.

Last week, a coalition of state attorneys general led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit seeking to block the $110bn acquisition over antitrust concerns.

The proposed merger would bring together Paramount and Warner Bros.’ iconic film studios, CBS, a broad portfolio of pay-TV networks including CNN, TNT, MTV and BET, as well as the Paramount+ and HBO Max streaming platforms under a single company.

The lawsuit alleges that the transaction would violate the Clayton Antitrust Act, a more than century-old law designed to prevent anticompetitive mergers and acquisitions.

The Paramount-WBD transaction remains under review by the European Union and the United Kingdom, which have set a new provisional deadline of July 22.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division approved the merger in June, concluding its federal antitrust review. The deal has also received clearance from several other jurisdictions worldwide.

Paramount has said it remains on course to complete the acquisition by the end of September.

However, any delay beyond September 30 could expose the company to additional costs, including a so-called ticking fee that would begin accruing if the transaction is not completed by that date.