THE HEAD JUDGE
Jurist probes Sumner’s mental state
CANTON, Mass. — The judge presiding over a case that could determine the fate of Sumner Redstone’s $40 billion media empire tried to get inside the head of the ailing 93-year-old mogul.
Judge George Phelan on Thursday spent hours grilling lawyers for both sides in an effort to understand Redstone’s mental state — but stopped short of making any rulings in the case playing out here in probate court.
The battle between Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman and Redstone’s daughter, Shari, hinges on whether the mogul was mentally capable when the decision was made to oust Dauman from the board of Redstone’s holding company, National Amusements Inc., and a family trust that will take over when he dies or is deemed incapacitated.
In the latest episode of a long-running corporate drama, Dauman’s lawyer, Leslie Fagen, said Shari was exerting undue influence over her dad and that the decision to oust Dauman and fellow Viacom director George Abrams should be undone.
During the marathon hearing on Thursday, Phelan said he wanted to understand why a prior judge in another case in California had allowed Redstone to decide on his own health-care agent without ruling on his competency.
In that case, Redstone’s live-in gal pal, Manuela Herzer, tried to get reinstated as his health-care proxy before the judge ruled against her.
“I want to find out how he [Judge David Cowan] could have ruled on Manuela Herzer without forming a judgment on whether [Redstone] was competent,” he said.
The judge also wanted to know how the elder Redstone, who has a speech impairment, is getting his information.
“I’m the primary source of information,” said Robert Klieger, Redstone’s lawyer, adding that Shari also keeps her father in the loop.
That prompted Dauman’s lawyer Fagen to take a shot at Klieger, his former colleague.
“I’m a little tired of Klieger being the voice of Sumner,” Fagen said.
Redstone’s lawyers depicted Red- stone as still engaged, describing how he watches financial news on TV and had taken trips to Paramount and CBS in recent weeks.
Phelan also asked for an account of all the doctors involved in Redstone’s care and the qualifications of his main speech interpreters, as well as whether he’s taking any special medications.
Phelan did not hear arguments over whether Redstone should undergo an immediate medical exami- nation as Dauman and Abrams requested. He also held off on ruling whether the case should continue in Massachusetts. Redstone’s lawyers have asked that the case be heard in Los Angeles, closer to the mogul’s home base in Beverly Hills.
The judge concluded the day giving little sense to participants about which way he might rule, but he noted he had some 7 inches of paperwork to read.