Justice Moves to Pull AT&T Suit Out of Cour

The Justice Department said on Friday that it would suspend its lawsuit against the proposed merger of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, and the federal judge hearing the case said she’d be happy to entertain that motion. AT&T's skirmishes with the Federal Communications Commission have endangered the antitrust suit against the deal, both DOJ and U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle agreed. She lectured AT&T's attorneys, calling the company's actions "presumptuous". "The landscape has changed," Huvelle said at a status conference in court on Friday. “We don’t have any confidence that we are spending all this time and effort and the taxpayers' money and that we’re not being spun." Justice Department lawyer Joseph Wayland told the court that the department wants to delay the case until AT&T again seeks approval at the FCC. Wayland said the government will file a motion on Tuesday to stay the case or a motion to withdraw it without prejudice until AT&T refiles at the FCC. "It's not a real transaction until they file at the FCC," Wayland said. AT&T will respond on Wednesday and they will meet in court again on Thursday. AT&T had withdrawn its merger application from the FCC after Chairman Julius Genachowski moved to block it. The company hoped to win against DOJ in court and then refile at the FCC. But Huvelle said this strategy gave the impression that AT&T was "using" the court. AT&T needs the approval process to move quickly because T-Mobile can back out under certain scenarios. The proceeding is expedited in court, set for a Feb. 13 trial date, but now Huvelle has to decide if that will happen. Refiling at the FCC could be uncomfortable for AT&T. The company tangled with the agency over the last two weeks, threatening to sue and saying its rejection of the merger was unfair. AT&T general counsel Wayne Watts said in a statement that AT&T is "eager to present our case in court." The $39 billion merger of AT&T and T-Mobile would reduce the number of national wireless companies from four to three. AT&T says it needs the merger to expand capacity on its mobile broadband network. The FCC moved to block the deal, saying it would reduce competition and won't serve the public interest. FCC officials have also said jobs would be lost in a merger. The DOJ agrees that the deal would be anticompetitive, and says it could lead to higher prices for consumers.