Viacom Drama: Dauman Wants Redstone Medical Evaluation

Philippe Dauman

More shots were fired in the battle for control of Viacom on Monday, as CEO Philippe Dauman and director George Abrams urged a Massachusetts judge to approve an immediate medical evaluation of Sumner Redstone, according to Variety.

The two men are challenging their removal from the Redstone family trust and the board of National Amusements, the movie theater company that owns controlling stakes in Viacom and CBS. They contend that Sumner Redstone is not mentally competent to oust them from the trust and was manipulated into doing so by his daughter, Shari Redstone.

“Time is of the essence,” according to the latest legal filing, painting a portrait of Redstone as a man who is near death. The mogul suffers from dementia, and is unable to stand, walk, read or eat on his own, according to the filing, which claims that Redstone was recently hospitalized.

Sumner Redstone

“The life expectancy of a reasonably healthy 93 year old man is limited and unpredictable,” write attorneys for Dauman and Abrams. “There is grave risk that Sumner Redstone will not be available to provide any evidence in this case,” they add.

As Redstone’s health declines, Shari Redstone and Dauman have found themselves in opposing camps. Their hostility spilled out into the open last winter, after Shari Redstone opposed Dauman’s elevation to the chairmanship of Viacom.

Dauman was once among Redstone’s most trusted lieutenants, a man that the Viacom mogul routinely praised on earnings calls as the “wisest” person he’d ever known. However, his tenure atop Viacom has been sharply criticized by investors and analysts.

The media company’s cable properties, a group that includes Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon, have taken ratings hits. Last week, Redstone’s camp released a statement that the mogul believes Dauman is doing a “bad job” of running Viacom. The opinions were offered during May 20 and May 24 examinations by Dr. James Spar, a geriatric psychiatrist, who told the court that he found Redstone to be “alert and in no distress.”