A New York court has denied a discovery request filed by Kingsland Holdings against Avianca Holdings as part of its campaign to prevent a tie-up between the Brazilian carrier and United Airlines (UA, Chicago O'Hare).

Avianca has released a statement saying that it is "pleased with [the] ruling."

Finance Colombia reports that Kingsland will continue to vigorously defend the company against what it sees as a damaging proposal.

"Following assurances from Avianca's lawyers to the court that no transaction with United is imminent and remains subject to negotiation, the court directed Kingsland Holdings to wait to obtain discovery," a spokesperson for Kingsland said.

Avianca's two major shareholders have been engaged in litigation over the past two months concerning a potential joint venture between Avianca and United Airlines. On the one side, major shareholder Synergy Aerospace Corporation, which is owned by German Eframovich, is pushing ahead to secure the deal. On the other side, Kingsland Holdings, which owns TACA International Airlines (San Salvador International) and is owned by the Kriete family, is actively attempting to deny the deal, saying that it has been specifically construed by Eframovich to benefit him personally.

Avianca has filed a motion to dismiss Kingsland's lawsuit saying that it is "entirely baseless and without merit."