AMR, US Airways and DOJ all open to settlement of merger-related suit

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, Aug. 29 - AMR Corp., US Airways Group, Inc. and the Department of Justice (DOJ) said they are open to a possible settlement of the action filed by the DOJ to obtain an injunction against the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways, according to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

According to the report, which deals largely with the parties' positions on trail scheduling and discovery, the DOJ and other plaintiffs in the merger injunction suit "are open to a settlement that addresses the competitive harms posed by the merger."

However, the plaintiffs said they have not yet received any such proposal from the airlines.

AMR and US Airways said in Wednesday's report that they "attempted to settle the case before it was brought, have publicly indicated their willingness to consider alternative approaches to settlement and continue to believe there ought to be a realistic possibility of settlement."

In addition, the parties said they do not believe the case would benefit from alternative dispute resolution procedures.

The airlines and the DOJ said they remain at an impasse regarding trial dates. As previously reported, the plaintiffs have asked the court to begin the trial on March 3, 2014 or after, while the defendants want the trial to begin on Nov. 12.

An initial scheduling conference is set for Aug. 30.

As previously reported, AMR was scheduled to appear in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday to try to convince that court to confirm its plan of reorganization, regardless of the status of the merger action.

US Airways is an airline operator based in Tempe, Ariz.

AMR, the Fort Worth-based parent of American Airlines, filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 29, 2011 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Its Chapter 11 case number is 11-15463.

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