WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Washington granted AT&T a stay Monday in the lawsuit filed by U.S. regulators to block the firm's proposed merger with T-Mobile.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle agreed with the request to suspend all legal action until Jan. 18, at which point a hearing will be held to discuss AT&T's intentions.
The firm could decided to proceed with the case or offer a new deal.
The Federal Communication Commission sued to block the original proposal, a $39 billion offer from AT&T to buy the fourth largest cellphone company in the country, T-Mobile.
The request for a stay of pre-trial proceedings included the stipulation that AT&T, by Jan. 12, file "a status report describing the status of their proposed transaction, including discussion of whether they intend to proceed with the transaction at issue in the litigation," the Justice Department said in a statement.
