Media mogul Sumner Redstone is set to be the latest client of Samuel Ingham, who previously served as a court-appointed conservator for pop star Britney Spears.
Redstone, the controlling shareholder of CBS and Viacom, was ruled incapacitated by a Los Angeles Judge on Monday. Ingham was appointed as an independent legal guardian.
The ruling came as part of ongoing litigation about
Redstone’s trust. Manuela Herzer, a former companion of Redstone’s,
filed a lawsuit to be reinstated in his will after she was written out
in 2016. That lawsuit has been withdrawn, but earlier this year Redstone
filed to preserve the 2016 change.
Herzer’s lawyers have argued that Sumner Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone,
is directing the litigation, and lawyers for Sumner Redstone and his
grandson, Tyler Korff, asked for a review of his competence to prevent
appeals on those grounds at a later date.
The judge ruled that Sumner Redstone was incapacitated on the grounds
of a severe speech impairment, but specified that the ruling had no
bearing on his mental competence.
A lawyer for Sumner Redstone said the ruling would
not affect his role at National Amusements Inc, which owns a controlling
share in CBS and Viacom. CBS sued National Amusements
earlier this year in an attempt to wrest back control from the
Redstones, and prevent a merger with Viacom, which is favored by Shari
Redstone.
But the ouster of CBS CEO Les Moonves earlier this year following sexual harassment allegations may have opened a path to push through the merger. Moonves was one of the merger’s biggest opponents at the network.
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Judge Rules Sumner Redstone is Incapacitated and Needs Independent Legal Guardian
I am so sorry for him. Redstone is an example of the greed circling the wealthy. The wealthy don't realize everything is ok until they get old or become vulnerable. Then, the very people who have smiled at them for years, turn.
ReplyDeleteI think they're just after his money and don't give a damn about him.
ReplyDelete