Philippe Dauman sues to keep Sumner Redstone trust post
Not so fast, Shari.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman filed a lawsuit on Monday to reverse his ouster from the seven-person trust that will determine the fate of the media giant once its founder Sumner Redstone is incapacitated or dies.
Dauman’s heave-ho from Redstone’s trust on May 20 severely undercuts his power on the Viacom board and gives one of his most outspoken critics, Shari Redstone, the mogul’s daughter, a leg up in their long-simmering feud.
The 62-year-old CEO, a longtime confidant of Sumner Redstone, said in the lawsuit that Shari is manipulating her dad in order to exert her will.
“Shari Redstone is attempting to illegally hijack her father’s well-established estate plan by removing professional managers and installing her daughter, an employee and friend who are firmly under her control,” Dauman said in a statement Monday morning issued to announce the suit.
“We will continue to have great respect and affection for Mr. Redstone, but he is clearly being manipulated by his daughter, Shari,” Dauman said.
The suit, filed in Massachusetts Probate and Family Court, seeks to overturn the move last Friday by Sumner Redstone to oust Dauman and George Abrams, a second member of the trust.
Sumner Redstone, 92, is the controlling shareholder of Viacom and CBS, a $40 billion media empire that owns MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, Paramount Pictures and premium cable TV asset Showtime.
Redstone’s 80 percent control of the two media giants is owned by his privately held National Amusements.
Shari Redstone, who had been estranged from her dad for years but recently reconnected with the ailing media mogul, quickly fired back at Dauman’s accusations.
“It is absurd for anyone to accuse Shari of manipulating her father or controlling what goes on in his household,” Shari said through a spokesperson.
“Sumner makes his own decisions regarding whom he wants to see both in his home and elsewhere, and he has his own team of independent advisors to counsel him on corporate and other matters,” the spokesperson said. “As to the idea that Shari, an attorney and respected businesswoman, would ‘unlawfully’ use his name, that is utterly ridiculous.”
Dauman’s lawsuit is the latest chapter in what has been a long-running feud — part family melodrama and part boardroom showdown.
On the family side, former Sumner gal pal Manuela Herzer recently lost a legal fight to have the mogul found incapable of making decision’s about his health care.
Sumner dismissed Herzer last October as his health care proxy. Herzer sought to have a judge find Sumner mentally unable to make such a move.
But in a video deposition, Sumner appears very capable of voicing his disapproval of Herzer. Shari Redstone was put in charge of her dad’s health care.
On the corporate side, Shari has been a critic of Dauman, hitting him for his inability to create any new ideas — and also for his tenure leading the company, since over the last year its stock has fallen 40 percent.
Ironically, during the Herzer battle, Dauman claimed Sumner was able to make decisions.
Meanwhile, Dauman’s star appears to be fading in the Viacom universe.
Wall Street has reacted positively to Dauman’s sidelining — pushing Viacom shares 3.1 percent higher in early Monday trading, to $40.26.