California Attorney General Rob Bonta canceled a planned settlement meeting with Paramount over what he said were company-orchestrated leaks of confidential talks, pushing a Democrat-led multistate antitrust suit to block Paramount’s proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery toward a jury trial in California next spring. Bonta has accused Paramount of litigating in the court of public opinion, expressed confidence the suit will succeed, and linked the company’s settlement outreach to that legal risk, while Paramount denied leaking and said it wants good-faith talks to resolve the case. The sides have traded barbs in court and the media for weeks, and Paramount’s top legal officer said earlier this month the company was considering leaving its Southern California headquarters if Bonta does not drop the suit. The transaction has been described both as an $81 billion deal and earlier at roughly $110 billion; the multistate action and a Writers Guild of America suit remain key hurdles, with states seeking structural remedies and Paramount facing heavy continuation fees.