Paramount on Monday asked a judge to require 12 states and the Writers Guild of America to put up a nearly $1.9 billion bond for challenging its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, money that would go to the company if it ultimately wins the case.

The aggressive maneuver came in a motion that argued the plaintiffs should be held financially responsible for monetary damages Paramount suffers during litigation that attempts to block the $81 billion deal.

Paramount specifically wants the bond to cover the roughly $7 million-a-day, or $650 million per-quarter, ticking fee it will owe Warner shareholders if the deal hasn't closed by Oct. 1.

The ticking fee was an incentive to persuade Warner shareholders to support its bid for the company over rival suitor Netflix.

Under Paramount's request, it would receive the bond funds if it beats the challengers in court. A trial is scheduled for March 2027, much later than Paramount sought.

"Paramount will have incurred $1.3 billion in unrecoverable financial losses as a result of ticking fees by the time post-trial briefing concludes, to say nothing of incremental financing fees and delayed synergies," the motion said.

Paramount also said that because the trial doesn't start until next year it will be "forced to restart the regulatory-approval process in certain jurisdictions-including the United States, whose approval expires on February 19, 2027-thereby incurring additional expenses and delay."

The company is relying on two different legal authorities to argue that requiring the bond is necessary.