Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison and his son, producer David Ellison,are accused in a lawsuit of cutting an illegal deal with President Donald Trump to pave the way for their blockbuster acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
A shareholder sued the Ellisons and other members of the Paramount Skydance Corp. board Wednesday, seeking to block the $110 billion transaction. The blockbuster deal appears to involve the promise of “illegal private benefits to President Trump in order to remove federal regulatory barriers,” according to the Delaware’s Chancery Court filing, which also requests money damages.
Those terms reportedly include the potential firing of CNN news anchors who have run afoul of the president and “the opportunity to improperly funnel cash” to him by settling his legal claims against the network, according to the court complaint. “The Ellisons’ actions not only harm the reputations of the news outlets they currently own, which are hemorrhaging viewers, but they are latent liabilities waiting to be triggered by a future administration,” the suit says.
Paramount didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. WBD and Trump aren’t named as defendants.
The dispute is the latest in a thicket of legal challenges tangling up the largest transaction in Hollywood history, including a wave of litigation targeting an earlier $8 billion tie-up between Shari Redstone‘s Paramount Global and David Ellison‘s Skydance Media LLC that’s already transforming the news and entertainment landscape.
Since the takeover, CBS has ended the ‘Late Show’ run of Trump critic Stephen Colbert and made controversial moves to overhaul ’60 Minutes.’ The new shareholder lawsuit comes the same week the Paramount-Warner deal was challenged in court by 12 states and the Writers Guild of America.
Wednesday’s 59-page filing portrays both mergers as part of the same pattern of unlawful negotiations with Trump. Since the Paramount-Skydance deal closed, “the Ellisons proceeded to remake CBS in the president’s image, bought properties he enjoyed, and even hosted events to honor him,” the suit says. “This helped the Ellisons, but it appears to have hurt Paramount.”
Future Litigation Forecast
After Trump put his thumb on the scale during the WBD bidding war between Paramount and Netflix Inc., federal regulators took a notably hands-off approach to the merger, according to the court complaint. That allegedly includes little to no scrutiny by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States despite a $24 billion stake going to Saudi, Qatari, and Emirati co-investors.
But “future presidential administrations are likely to subject such an ownership structure to intense and persistent scrutiny, creating significant long-term exposure for Paramount,” the lawsuit says. “The court should use its equitable power to stop defendants from reaping personal benefits based on illegal activity.”
The case involves shareholder derivative claims, which are technically filed on a company’s behalf against its officers, directors, or controlling stockholders. Derivative lawsuits typically seek to claw back cash into the corporate coffers.
The investor leading the lawsuit, Paul Robbins, is represented by Thomas Law LLC, Public Integrity Project, and Freedom of the Press Foundation. The Ellisons, Paramount, and other members of its board haven’t yet made court appearances.
The case is Robbins v. Ellison, Del. Ch., No. 2026-0928, 7/15/26.
