Dauman and Viacom director George Abrams were removed by Redstone from the trust and the board of the family holding company.
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The action further consolidates control in the hands of ailing media mogul Sumner Redstone and his daughter, Shari Redstone.
“He is a 93-year-old man suffering from numerous physical ailments, including an inability to speak, stand, walk, eat, write or read”, the CEO said in the court papers. Dauman, who has the support of much of the Viacom board, has publicly accused Shari of “manipulation”, a charge that Sumner’s ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer has also thrown around numerous times.
After a 2-1/2-hour hearing in a windowless courtroom on Tuesday in MA, the state where Redstone’s trust was originated, Phelan said he may or may not decide on Dauman and Abrams’ motion for an expedited trial before he receives a formal motion for dismissal from Redstone’s lawyers, which is expected in the next few days.
Attorneys for VIACOM chief DAUMAN insisted that the court needed to act swiftly in the case (NET NEWS, 6/6) while an attorney for SHARI REDSTONE objected to his attorney’s assertion that “RESTONE has been brainwashed”.
One day ahead of the face-off, Dauman fought back against his ouster, claiming Shari has “abruptly taken hold of her father’s life” as part of a larger, “meritless” grab for control of Viacom.
On Monday, Viacom’s controlling shareholder, Redstone’s National Amusements Inc., amended the media company’s bylaws requiring unanimous board approval for any deals involving Paramount.
Dauman and another long-time Viacom director George Abrams, are seeing expedited discovery in the case so that Redstone can be examined and possible testify before his condition worsens more.
In court papers, lawyers for Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman asked a judge to order an immediate medical evaluation of Redstone.
In addition, they say that Dauman and Abrams lack standing to sue: Even if Redstone is found to be incompetent, four of the seven directors voted to replace them.
Ninety-three-year-old Sumner Redstone has so severe a speech impediment that he’s nearly impossible to understand except when he unleashes vulgarities – “which he can speak remarkably clearly”, one of his attorneys told a judge Tuesday. Dauman and Abrams once he dies or is incapacitated and the trust goes into effect.
The Monday move by NAI proved that just when you thought the infighting at Viacom couldn’t get any nastier or more cutthroat – it could.
Fagen told Phelan on Tuesday that while the trust agreement doesn’t define the term “undue influence”, the burden of proof is on Shari to disprove it. Redstone’s trust agreement is private.
Viacom said in February it was exploring selling a portion of Paramount after a number of buyers expressed interest. But the case has far-reaching implications as New York-based Viacom Inc. owns Paramount Pictures as well as MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and BET.
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