Hawaiian Holdings plunges on concern about potential Alaska Air lawsuit with legal filing

Hawaiian Holdings (NASDAQ:HA) dropped 15% amid investor concern about a potential Dept. of Justice lawsuit to block its planned sale to Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK).

The shares fell after a Dept. of Justice trial attorney who was involved in the DOJ’s lawsuit to block JetBlue (JBLU) from buying Spirit Airlines (SAVE) filed to practice in Hawaii.

Brian Hanna, an attorney for the DOJ, notified the court, pursuant to the local rules of U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, filed an application for his attention to appear before the U.S. to attend to the interests of the U.S., according to a legal filing from Monday being circulated among traders.

To be clear, the legal filing didn’t mention Hawaiian Holdings (HA) or Alaska Air (ALK).

Alaska Air (ALK) didn’t immediately respond to Seeking Alpha email request for comment.

The filing comes ahead of Thursday deadline for the regulator to decide if it will file a lawsuit to block the airline combination. The airlines disclosed earlier this month that they agreed with the DOJ to extend the review period for their planned deal until Aug 15. The DOJ’s deadline was originally Aug. 5.

Several media outlets said last month that DOJ was preparing to sue to block the deal.