Judge Denies Motion to Dismiss Viacom CEO's Suit Over Redstone Trust
July 28 2016 - 1:38PM
Dow Jones News
By Joe Flint
The legal battle for future control over Sumner Redstone's $40
billion media empire appears to be headed to trial.
A Massachusetts judge on Thursday denied a motion to dismiss a
lawsuit brought by Viacom Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive
Philippe Dauman and board member George Abrams that seeks to
reinstate the pair after they were ousted from the board of
National Amusements Inc., the company through which Mr. Redstone
controls Viacom and CBS Corp. They also want to be reinstated to a
trust that was set up to oversee Mr. Redstone's holdings upon his
death or incapacitation.
Messrs. Dauman and Abrams have charged that 93-year-old Mr.
Redstone no longer has the mental capacity to make those decisions
and that he is being manipulated by his daughter Shari Redstone,
who is Viacom's vice chair as well as a member of both the National
Amusements board and the trust. Ms. Redstone has denied those
allegations.
While Messrs. Dauman and Abrams can claim victory in not having
their case dismissed, their request for an immediate medical exam
of Mr. Redstone was denied. In his 76-page ruling, Judge George
Phelan of the Norfolk County Probate and Family Court said he would
review medical records of Mr. Redstone from a previous trial in
California that also challenged his competence but was
dismissed.
Write to Joe Flint at joe.flint@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 28, 2016 13:23 ET (17:23 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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