T AT&T Inc

By Drew FitzGerald 

WASHINGTON -- Forecasts of snow in the U.S. capital prompted a federal judge to push back to Thursday the opening arguments in the long-awaited antitrust trial of AT&T Inc. and Time Warner Inc.

"This is not Burlington, Vermont," Judge Richard Leon said in a Tuesday hearing. "They don't deal well with snow here."

Both companies' chief executives planned to attend the Wednesday proceedings after their lawyers went through two days of hearings dealing with procedural issues. Judge Leon told attorneys to instead make plans for a Thursday hearing.

The Justice Department in November sued the companies over AT&T's $85 billion offer to buy Time Warner, citing concerns about its effect on competition. The trial is expected to last more than a month.

Write to Drew FitzGerald at andrew.fitzgerald@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 20, 2018 17:35 ET (21:35 GMT)

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