A trial over Sumner Redstone's mental competence abruptly ended on Monday when a California judge threw out a lawsuit brought by the 92-year-old's former girlfriend, Manuela Herzer, saying Redstone's deposition made clear the media mogul knew what he wanted.
The decision appears to bring to an end a protracted and at times embarrassing legal drama, while keeping the billionaire in charge of his controlling stake in media companies Viacom Inc and CBS Corp. However, Herzer's lawyer said she would appeal.
“There is no good cause for further judicial involvement where the court has now heard directly from Redstone that he has lost trust in Herzer, does not want her in his life and instead wants his daughter Shari to look after him if necessary,” the judge wrote in his ruling.
Herzer contended that Redstone was not mentally competent when he removed her as his designated healthcare agent last October. A trial to decide the matter started on Friday and had been set to run through May 16.
Judge David Cowan wrote in his ruling that Herzer's claims that Redstone could not understand or communicate were disproved by testimony from Redstone himself, in a deposition that was presented to the court on Friday.
“Redstone's testimony has ultimately defeated her case. Though Herzer may have believed that Redstone would not be able to say anything, or be able to understand the questions, Redstone did both.”
The judge said Redstone appeared to be in pain and struggled to speak clearly in his deposition, but ultimately he showed no confusion about what he was asked, and what he wanted.
After the ruling was handed out in court, Shari Redstone hugged her lawyer. Sumner Redstone was not present in court.
“I am grateful to the court for putting an end to this long ordeal,” she said later in a statement. “I am so happy for my father that he can now live his life in peace, surrounded by his friends and family.”
Herzer argued in her lawsuit that Shari Redstone and the nurses attending the senior Redstone had conspired against her. Herzer's lawyer, Pierce O'Donnell, said she had already filed a lawsuit claiming more than $100 million from Shari and Redstone's nurses, accusing them of interfering with her expected inheritance.
The trial was being closely watched by shareholders of Viacom and CBS. Redstone earlier this year stepped down as executive chairman of both companies, assuaging some investor questions about his influence.
But some concerns have remained about his control of roughly 80 percent of the voting shares in both companies, held through his National Amusements movie theater company.
The judge's dismissal means more uncertainty around the long-term future of CBS and Viacom, said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research Group. “Yes, there is a plan for what happens when Redstone passes, but things remain as uncertain as they were before, in terms of the long-term implications,” he said.
If Herzer, 52, had proved her case, it could have triggered a chain of events that would result in the transfer of Redstone's controlling stake in both media companies to a seven-person trust that includes Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and Redstone's daughter Shari.
The transfer of his shares to the trust is scheduled to take place upon his death unless he is found to be incompetent to manage them prior to that.
Viacom shares were down 1.8 percent, roughly where they were trading before the ruling.
