DOJ Wants March Start Date for American Merger Trial

The Justice department on Tuesday filed a motion with the District Court for the District of Columbia requesting that the trial date to adjudicate the DOJ’s suit seeking to block the American-US Airways merger be set for March 3, 2014.

The original DOJ proposal was for a February 2014 trial date, but the judge assigned to the case had already committed to another case beginning in mid-January and expected to last up to eight weeks.

The Dallas Morning News coverage of the story quotes the DOJ filing as follows: “Defendants’ attempt to rush this matter to a trial on the merits in fewer than 75 days following the initial Scheduling Conference creates the very real risk that a challenge to a $14 billion merger—in dollar terms one of the largest merger challenges ever adjudicated—will be resolved on less than an appropriate record.”

In other words, the DOJ needs more time to prepare.

The legal team representing American and US Airways had originally proposed a November 13 start date.

The airline has until end of day Wednesday, August 28, to file its counterproposal, and there’s a conference set for Friday, at which time the judge should announce the final schedule for the trial.

This article originally appeared on FrequentFlier.com.

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