Judge Appoints Guardian For Sumner Redstone

Sumner Redstone & daughter Shari

A probate judge on Monday appointed an independent legal guardian to represent Sumner Redstone, finding he is incapable of representing his interests in a trust battle with his former companion, reports Variety.

Redstone, the chairman of National Amusements, Inc., is 95 and suffers from severe speech impairment and diminished mental faculties. Judge David Cowan appointed probate attorney Samuel Ingham to serve as Redstone’s guardian ad litem.

“I think it’s a long time coming,” Cowan said. “I’m surprised nobody brought it sooner.”

The trust battle between Redstone and ex-companion Manuela Herzer is headed to trial on Jan. 14. The two sides are fighting over a 2015 amendment to Redstone’s trust, which removed Herzer as one of his heirs. Herzer’s attorneys argue that Redstone lacked the mental capacity to understand what was happening.

Herzer’s attorneys asked the judge to order an independent medical examination of Redstone before the trial. Cowan rejected that request on Monday, saying that Redstone’s current mental state has no bearing on his faculties at the time of the 2015 amendment.

Redstone’s attorneys and attorneys for his grandson, Tyler Korff, had asked for the appointment of a legal guardian at the urging of the judge. Herzer’s attorneys have argued that Redstone’s daughter, Shari, is directing the litigation behind the scenes. Cowan had earlier said that appointing a legal guardian, who would direct the litigation on Redstone’s behalf, would safeguard the case from an appeal on that issue.