Let the legal battle begin.

On Monday, a Las Vegas-based HBO Max subscriber sued Netflix over concerns that the streamer’s plans to buy some of Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets would create an anti-competitive environment in the entertainment industry and raise subscription prices.

Netflix said last week it agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery’s film and TV business, its Burbank lot, HBO and the HBO Max streaming service for $27.75 a share or $72 billion. It also agreed to take on more than $10 billion of Warner Bros.’ debt, creating a deal value of $82.7 billion.

Michelle Fendelander alleges in her lawsuit that if Netflix’s deal were to go through, it would decrease competition in the subscription streaming market. She is asking the court to issue an injunction to prevent the merger from happening or issue a remedy for the anti-competitive effects.

“American consumers — including SVOD purchasers like Plaintiff, an HBO Max subscriber — will bear the brunt of this decreased competition, paying increased prices and receiving degraded and diminished services for their money,” according to Fendelander’s lawsuit, which is seeking class-action status. The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. District Court in San Jose.

Netflix on Tuesday called the lawsuit “meritless” and “merely an attempt by the plaintiffs bar to leverage all the attention on the deal.”

The Los Gatos, Calif.,-based streamer is long seen as the winner of the subscription streaming wars, boosted by having successfully entered the streaming content space earlier than rivals and for its superior recommendation technology. By buying Warner Bros. Discovery’s assets, Netflix would gain access to more franchises and characters, including Batman, “Game of Thrones” and Harry Potter. Netflix said it plans to keep Warner Bros.’ commitments to bringing its movies to theaters.

But Fendelander and some industry observers are concerned that Netflix owning one of its streaming rivals will hurt the entertainment industry because it means less competition.

“The elimination of this rivalry is likely to reduce overall content output, diminish the diversity and quality of available content, and narrow the spectrum of creative voices appearing on major streaming platforms,” according to the lawsuit by Fendelander, who has never been a Netflix subscriber.

Streamers over the years have steadily raised their prices, and some analysts said they would not be surprised if subscription prices continued to go up.

Netflix executives said they believe their deal to acquire WBD’s assets will benefit key stakeholders.

“It’s going to mean more options for consumers,” said Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters on a call with investors last Friday. “It’s going to be more opportunities for creators, more value for our shareholders. Together, we’ve got the chance to bring great stories, cutting edge innovation and more choice to audiences everywhere.”

Peters also pointed out at a UBS conference on Monday that Netflix combined with the assets it is acquiring from Warner Bros. Discovery would still amount to a smaller share of U.S. TV viewing than YouTube.

Whether the deal will get over the finish line remains to be seen, although Netflix executives say they believe it will. On Monday, Paramount said it would directly appeal to shareholders to offer an alternative bid.

A federal judge on Monday struck down the Trump administration’s ban on federal permits for wind energy projects in what supporters said was an important victory for the embattled industry.

President Trump issued the ban on his first day back in office through an executive order that called for the temporary withdrawal of nearly all federal land and waters from new or renewed wind-energy leasing. The president said such leases “may lead to grave harm” including negative effects on national security, transportation and commercial interests, among other justifications.

U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris, for the District of Massachusetts, ruled that the ban is “arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law,” and said the concern about “grave harm” was insufficient to justify the immense scope of a moratorium on all wind energy.

The challenge was brought by attorneys general in 17 states, including California, and Washington.

In it, they argued that halting federal wind permits created an “existential threat” to the wind industry that could erase billions of dollars in investments and tens of thousands of jobs.

“A court has agreed with California and our sister states nationwide: The Trump Administration’s attempt to thwart states’ efforts to make energy more clean, reliable, and affordable for our residents is unlawful and cannot stand,” California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said in a statement. “The Trump Administration seems intent on raising costs on American families at every juncture — and California is equally committed to challenging every one of its illegal attempts to make life more expensive for Californians.”

At least seven major offshore wind projects were paused as a result of the federal permitting ban, according to the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council, plus several more that were in early phases of development.

“This ban on wind projects was illegal, as this court has now declared. The administration should use this as a wake-up call, stop its illegal actions and get out of the way of the expansion of renewable energy,” said Kit Kennedy, the council’s managing director for power, in a statement.

The lawsuit noted the president’s executive order was issued the same day as his National Energy Emergency Declaration, which encouraged domestic energy development not tied to wind and other renewables. The president has heavily supported fossil fuel production including oil, gas and coal.

In a statement to The Times, White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said offshore wind projects were given “unfair, preferential treatment” under the Biden administration while the rest of the energy industry was “hindered by burdensome regulations.”

“President Trump’s day one executive order instructed agencies to review leases and permitting practices for wind projects with consideration for our country’s growing demands for reliable energy, effects on energy costs for American families, the importance of marine life and fishing industry, and the impacts on ocean currents and wind patterns,” Rogers said. “President Trump has ended Joe Biden’s war on American energy and unleashed America’s energy dominance to protect our economic and national security.”

California has vowed to stay the course on offshore wind despite the federal challenges.

The state has an ambitious goal of 25 gigawatts of floating offshore wind energy by 2045, by which point California officials say offshore wind could represent 10% to 15% of the Golden State’s energy portfolio. Five ocean leases have already been granted to energy companies off Humboldt County and Morro Bay.

In August, the Trump administration said it was cutting $679 million for “doomed” offshore wind projects, including $427 million that had been earmarked for California.

Ted Kelly, director and lead counsel of U.S. clean energy at the nonprofit Environmental Defense Fund, said obstructing the build-out of clean power is the wrong move as the country’s need for electricity is surging from data centers, industry and other demands.

Wind, solar and battery storage offer the most affordable ways to get more reliable power on the grid, Kelly said.

“We should not be kneecapping America’s largest source of renewable power,” he said, “especially when we need more cheap, homegrown electricity.”

Just a few storefronts away from the now-vacant Button Mash, Sick City Records is on the brink of sharing the same fate.

For nearly 20 years, therecord shop has offered Echo Park a rocker-themed hodgepodge of rare vinyl, vintage band tees and dapper haircuts from its singular barber shop chair. But as rent continues to increase and fewer people stop by to browse its sonic selection or get a trim, Sick City Records is struggling to keep its doors open.

“We’ve worked so hard for this. We’ve been doing this for 20 years. We have to fight to keep this place open — it’s what we love to do,” said Jesse Lopez, the record store’s co-owner and resident barber.

Lopez and his business partner, Brian Flores, attribute their financial difficulties to an overall rough year. In January, when the Eaton and Palisades fires broke out, the shop was desolate for around a month. Then, right as summer kicked off — usually a lucrative season for record-collecting tourists stopping by — ICE raids began happening all over the city.

According to Flores, the streets were filled with large fleets of cars all summer, with loud sirens on, trying to scare people. Recent data from the L.A. Economic Equity Accelerator and Fellowship and the L.A. County Economic Development Corp show that 43% of Latino business owners in the county reported revenue losses of 50% or higher since June.

“No one was walking around. It was June. Nobody’s walking their dog,” said Flores. “In this whole shopping center, everybody is an immigrant.”

The record shop’s finances reached an all-time low in October. The duo was two months behind rent; their inventory had gone stagnant and their once regular barber shop clients had become sporadic. The prospect of closing up shop and cutting their losses became more real than ever.

In a last effort to save their music hub, Flores and Lopez have since picked up a vendor spot at the monthly Rose Bowl Flea Market, started a series of collaborative fundraisers with local artists and launched a GoFundMe account.

Since they first opened in 2006, Flores and Lopez have always specialized in rock, punk and alternative — carrying bands like the Velvet Underground, the Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Suede. The inside of their space reflects that — the walls are filled with wheatpasted skulls; rows of Iron Maiden and Suicidal Tendencies tees line the perimeter and their most valuable merchandise — like a sealed Iggy Pop vinyl, a clear variant of Portishead’s “Dummy,” and a signed Echo & the Bunnymen record — hang high on elevated shelves.

“A lot of stuff’s been sitting here for a long time,” Flores confessed as he looks around at the different half-filled genre crates.

“We try to make what we can. We make our own buttons. We do our own silk screening. We can’t buy high-end vintage. We can’t afford it right now,” he added. “It’s embarrassing when the kids are asking for new rap records and these record guys come in looking for something special, but we don’t have it.”

Band tees and vinyl records hang on a wall inside of Sick City Records.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

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In recent years, Sick City has also made an effort to expand into other genres, and now carries anything from country to jazz and rap. Between albums like Tyler the Creator’s “Cherry Bomb” and the Cocteau Twins’ “Heaven or Las Vegas,” Flores says they will always dedicate several of their crates to local underground acts, featuring anything from their customers’ passion projects to bands who play the city’s bars and house shows.

Their local selection is usually most popular during the summertime and when people are in town for events like the relatively nearby Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

“Truthfully, this year we haven’t had that many tourists. People are usually looking for L.A. bands to take home to places like Australia and Canada and ask us for recommendations,” said Flores. “But this year, without tourists, it’s still slow.”

Their dedication to L.A.’s local sounds goes back to their roots as a business. In 1999, the duo first sold vintage band tees at Melrose Trading Post. At the time, the market was mostly older vendors selling novelty items. Flores and Lopez decided to shake things up a bit by playing Metallica in the early-morning hours and began to build a younger clientele who were interested in their vintage clothing. Over time, they learned how to screen print and started selling their own designs.

After about five years of selling at the market, they decided to upscale into a more permanent business that would focus on music. In 2006, they opened a space in Silver Lake that functioned as a barbershop with a couple of record crates. Despite it being the early 2000s, the vendors were ahead of the up-and-coming vinyl revival, as millennials started to pay more attention to physical media.

As record-collecting grew in popularity and events like Record Store Day went mainstream, they saw a surge in sales. In 2008, they expanded the record portion of their business, opening their current location in Echo Park.

With this stint of success, the record shop started to function as a record label as well. In the early 2010s, the duo helped some customers and longtime friends who were in bands release, distribute and promote their albums. Flores and Lopez would help choose the album art, the order of the track list and help book shows.

Sick City Records owners Jessie Lopez, left, and Brian Flores at their Echo Park shop.

(Ronaldo Bolanos / Los Angeles Times)

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One of the first bands they worked with was local rock group the High Curbs, who were teenagers at the time and thereforestruggled to get into the bars where they were booked to play. With the help of Sick City, they were able to release their 2016 album. The band, which still regularly tours and releases music, made its return to the record shop earlier this summer for the annual music festival Echo Park Rising.

“They told me, ‘We don’t do any small shows anymore, but for Echo Park Rising, we want to give back and play for you guys.’ We had a full house,” Flores said. “We felt the love back.”

At the height of the business, when they were funding their record label, Flores says they were making around $8,000 a month. Now they are making closer to $2,000 monthly, with customers spending an average of around $10 per visit. On a weekday afternoon in November, a handful of patrons came into the shop to sift through their vinyl selection, but only one customer made a purchase.

“We want to do more. We want to do more shows and promote more bands. We’ve done shows at Los Globos, the Silverlake Lounge, the Redwood [Bar and Grill]. But all this costs money,” Flores said. “So when we were able to put out those records, it was very expensive at the time, but we were able to do it.”

Flores and Lopez continued to operate out of both stores until 2020, when they decided to consolidate both businesses into the one that exists today.

Since the pandemic, Sick City Records’ rent has continually increased. In 2020, the duo paid $1,800 for the space. Today they pay $3,500. In the last several years, gentrification has taken hold of Echo Park, hiking up both residential and commercial rent. Flores says that in the nearly 20 years that they’ve been on Sunset Boulevard, he’s seen many small businesses collapse from these strains.

With a specialty in rock, punk and alternative, Sick City Records’ selection often spotlights local L.A. acts.

(Andres Melo / For The Times)

“There are a couple of small coffee shops, like Woodcat, that are still there. But Spacedust [a clothing shop] is gone. Cosmic Vinyl is gone,” said Flores. The latter establishment shuttered in 2018 but reopened earlier this year at a new location in Eagle Rock.

“There’s no parking. I don’t know why they keep raising the rent. But Echo Park has always been a hub where people want to be.”

Sick City Records has several fundraisers and flea market pop-ups planned before the end of the year. On Dec. 13, they will be hosting an art show at the shop called “Hold On to Your Friends,” which will feature live DJs, local artists and vendors. All proceeds will go to keeping Sick City in operation.

“Hopefully, people don’t forget about us. We’re just trying to keep the music alive, keep a good vibe and keep promoting the music community,” said Flores. “We just got to get back on our feet. We want to bring in product that we’re proud of.”