Judge asks for more information in lawsuit challenging Sumner Redstone’s mental capacity

Reporting from CANTON, Mass. —  A Massachusetts judge on Thursday put off a decision on whether to toss out a lawsuit that challenges the mental competency of mogul Sumner Redstone, keeping alive a contentious fight over the future of media company Viacom Inc.

Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman brought the lawsuit late last month after he and another longtime associate were booted from their involvement with Redstone’s trust and his family’s holding company, National Amusements Inc.

After hearing arguments from both sides for nearly six hours Thursday, Probate and Family Court Judge George Phelan said he “had a lot of information to digest” before ruling on a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

He asked for affidavits, transcripts and documents related to a case in May in which a Los Angeles judge ruled that Redstone made it clear that he did not want his former companion, Manuela Herzer, in charge of his healthcare. In that case, Redstone said he wanted his daughter Shari Redstone in charge of healthcare decisions.

The Massachusetts case is expected to determine whether the ailing 93-year-old billionaire knew what he was doing when he ousted Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams from their influential roles helping to steer his $40-billion media empire.

Dauman has argued that Redstone was in a weakened medical state when he ousted the men and that he was being manipulated by his daughter, a longtime Dauman foe. Redstone’s attorneys have called those claims spurious and sought to dismiss the case.

Most of the arguments at Thursday’s hearing focused on the venue for a trial, if it goes forward. Dauman’s side wants a hearing in Massachusetts, where National Amusements Inc. is based and the trust that eventually will oversee Redstone’s stock holdings was established.

Redstone’s attorneys want the case adjudicated in California, where the mogul has resided since 2003 and most of his medical support staff is situated. He would also have a right to a jury trial in the state.

Phelan asked more than a dozen questions during Thursday’s proceedings, including inquiries about the background of Redstone’s doctors and speech therapist and whether the mogul drove himself when he recently visited executives at Viacom’s Paramount Pictures and CBS. The judge also sought details on the interactions between Redstone and his daughter.

In their lawsuit, Dauman and Abrams contend that Redstone, who struggles to speak coherently, suffers from a neurological disorder with symptoms that resemble dementia. They say a fit Redstone would not have dumped two longtime advisors, particularly after he asserted for years that he wanted professional managers to help oversee his holdings. They’ve asked for a medical evaluation to determine Redstone’s mental capacity. Phelan has not yet ruled on that request.

However, representatives of Redstone and his daughter have argued that the former Viacom chairman is making his own decisions and has authority to remove Dauman and Abrams from their positions.

Lawsuits have been filed in three states -- Massachusetts, Delaware and California -- but the Massachusetts case is expected to take center stage in deciding whether Redstone has the mental capacity to make complex business decisions.

At Thursday’s hearing, Elizabeth Burnett, an attorney for Shari Redstone, said the lawsuit from Dauman would only further disparage her client, who has been accused of being a “puppet master” for her ailing father.

“If there is a trial, there will be character assassinations of Shari, and they will be wrong,” Burnett told the court. “There is nothing undue about a 93-year-old father getting advice, companionship or influence from his daughter.”

Noting reports that Redstone was estranged from his daughter until recently, Burnett said the two have “had disagreements” but that there “were more agreements than disagreements.”

Attorneys for Dauman and Abrams continued to present a grim picture of Redstone’s physical condition, noting that he requires around-the-clock nursing care, uses a feeding tube and cannot speak intelligibly.

Pierce O’Donnell, who represents Redstone’s granddaughter Keryn, who is backing Dauman and Abrams, cited the mogul’s signature on correspondence submitted to the court.

“That flat line signature is a tragically apt metaphor for Mr. Redstone’s mental capacity,” O’Donnell said.

Burnett later disputed that depiction, noting that though Redstone requires a speech therapist to interpret him, he follows the dealings of his company by watching the CNBC financial news cable channel.

“The idea of him being a living ghost is a good sound bite,” she said. “But it’s not true.”

[email protected]

[email protected]