Redstone granddaughter agrees to case dismissal, helps broader deal

The settlement marked the end of a legal battle between Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams over their removal by Sumner Redstone from the Sumner M. Redstone National Amusements Inc Trust in May.

The accord ends a decades-long relationship between the elder Redstone and Dauman, a corporate attorney who advised Sumner on many of his biggest deals, including the acquisitions of Viacom, Paramount and CBS Corp.

Attorney Robert Klieger portrayed Sumner Redstone’s health as stable, saying the aging media mogul has had “no recent hospitalizations”.

The granddaughter of Viacom Inc’s (VIAB.O) controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone has agreed to let a MA court dismiss claims brought by former company leaders, a step that will help end a battle over the fate of the media empire.

The proposed trust reformation is created to quell claims by Keryn Redstone that her grandfather is being unduly manipulated and that she could be squeezed from her rightful share of the trust.

Keryn Redstone broke ranks with other family members and joined Dauman and Abrams in their MA suit over the trust.

Sumner agreed to sit down with Keryn “to see if there’s some sort of healing process that can be accomplished”, Rob Klieger, one of the billionaire’s lawyers, told the judge.

Meanwhile, in a Redstone v. Redstone matter – a suit by Sumner Redstone’s granddaughter Keryn vs. her aunt Shari to ensure she’s not cut out – some peace is on the way as the family is consulted over adjusting the trust terms. “I don’t know if Shari holds the pen and they move the paper under it”, O’Donnell said.

But under last weekend’s settlement, Dauman and Abrams agreed to withdraw their accusations. Dauman agreed to drop his legal challenge and step down as Viacom’s CEO in exchange for a package worth up to $90 million, according to published reports.

A granddaughter of Sumner Redstone dropped objections that were holding up the settlement of the Viacom media empire power struggle after receiving promises of meeting the mogul and firmly securing a billion-dollar stake in his trust.

Friday’s proposed accord, which came at Judge George Phelan’s request for the parties to negotiate during a break in the hearing, doesn’t yet conclude the litigation.

The judge in the case is setting September 23 to get everyone back in court to check status, and thanked a rack of attending attorneys for a “reasonable and human outcome for a human issue”.

“I’m hoping you’re all pleased with what I think is a reasonable human outcome to a human issue”, Phelan said from the bench.

Watch the hearing on demand.