Justice Department and airlines agree to mediator in merger suit
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The U.S. Justice Department’s lawsuit to halt the proposed merger of American Airlines and US Airways may be resolved without a court battle.
The two sides have agreed to meet with a mediator at the suggestion of the judge who was set to hear the lawsuit aimed at stopping the creation of the world’s largest airline, according to a court filing.
But if mediation does not resolve the legal wrangling, the suit will likely begin Nov. 25 in the courtroom of Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.
The court filing also noted that most of the discovery in the case has been completed, with the airlines producing more than 1.3 million documents and the Justice Department producing 900,000 documents.
The Justice Department has argued that the merger would lead to higher fares, reduced competition and a cut in services to smaller cities.
American Airlines and US Airways have said the merger would help them better compete with other airlines that have grown bigger through mergers of their own.
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