lawsuits

The battle over the fortune of ailing Viacom and CBS Inc. mogul Sumner Redstone shifted to a new front Monday after a judge threw out the case over his medical care and both sides targeted each other with new $100 million-plus lawsuits.

New court documents reveal that Sumner Redstone’s former girlfriends, Manuela Herzer and Sidney Holland, received $150 million from him over a five-year period.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David J. Cowan ruled Monday that attorneys for the media mogul and Sumner Redstone’s ex-girlfriend and longtime companion will be allowed to solicit 30 minutes of sworn testimony from Redstone. The session will be conducted at Redstone’s home and videotaped.

Fissures within the famously fractured Sumner Redstone family widened Tuesday when his granddaughter asked to join the contentious court battle over whether the media mogul is mentally competent. Keryn Redstone, the 34-year-old daughter of Sumner Redstone’s estranged son, Brent, is petitioning the court to allow her to join the lawsuit in support of Redstone’s former companion, Manuela Herzer.

Just over a month after CBS was hit with a wide-ranging lawsuit over profits from the Judge Judy show and Her Honor’s $47 million salary, the network has struck back. In an answer filed Friday in L.A. Superior Court to Rebel Entertainment Partners complaint of May 14, a somewhat embarrassed CBS said basically “no way” because the parties in question fraudulently misrepresented themselves for decades.

A judge reaffirmed the ruling ahead of a scheduled trial in a mental capacity suit filed by Manuela Herzer, the former companion of ailing media mogul Sumner Redstone.

Comcast wants a federal court to throw out WHDH Boston’s lawsuit against the cable giant over its refusal to extend the station’s NBC affiliation, arguing that WHDH signed a contract that expires in January and must live by its terms. WHDH filed the lawsuit in March, claiming the move violated antitrust law and Comcast’s agreement with affiliates.

Settlement talks between Sumner Redstone and ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer have hit a roadblock, and attorneys now are busy gearing up for what could be a contentious trial. Attorneys representing the 92-year-old mogul and his former companion late last week were close to an agreement on the framework for a settlement that would have ended the lawsuit that challenged Redstone’s mental competency. But after details of the settlement leaked, negotiations fell apart.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld Utah’s ban on polygamy, dealing a legal blow to TLC’s “Sister Wives” in a ruling that sides with prosecutors […]

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A producer of the “Gilmore Girls” is suing over plans to revive the series for a short run on the streaming service Netflix. Producer Gavin Polone […]

A preliminary settlement between media mogul Sumner Redstone and his former companion Manuela Herzer would pay her more than $10 million in exchange for dropping her suit and ceasing contact with the 92-year-old billionaire, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The fight between Gray Television and Media General over operation of Augusta, Ga., NBC affiliate WAGT has, in effect, ended. In a filing Tuesday with the Georgia Supreme Court, Media General withdrew its injunction, which the high court suspended last month and which had kept Gray Television from operating the station for much of February and March.

It took a week, but Comcast has response to the FCC about the Byron Allen’s Entertainment Studios calling for a probe of the conglomerate’s minority programming efforts. “This is not the first time (or second, or third) that Petitioners have accused a programming distributor of instituting racist practices,” Comcast wrote in opposing Allen’s filing

Viacom boss Philippe Dauman will not be sitting down for a planned deposition today as settlement talks in the Sumner Redstone health care lawsuit are underway. There’s no deal right now but talks on an agreement between reps for Redstone’s side and the media mogul’s former companion Manuela Herzer are moving along, according to sources.

The Federal Trade Commission alleges that Volkswagen deceived customers during a seven-year period by selling its diesel cars based on fraudulent claims made through its marketing campaigns. That campaign included Super Bowl ads, online social media campaigns and print advertising targeted to “environmentally conscious” consumers.

  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah woman who is part of a polygamous group alleges in a lawsuit that makers of a reality TV show barged into her […]

A federal court says no to Free Access & Broadcast Telemedia’s attempt to hold up the start of the incentive auction until its case for LPTV participation is resolved.

A day after NBCUniversal warned Dish Network subscribers that its cable and broadcast channels might go dark on the service this weekend, the satcaster has hit back. Dish today filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against NBCU, claiming that the company violated the terms of their 2013 retrans deal. It seeks arbitration to halt the potential blackout.

Judge Judy Sheindlin has fired back against a lawsuit claiming that her outsize salary has driven her CBS-syndicated courtroom show into the red. Talent agency Rebel Entertainment Partners claims it has not received contractually obligated payments from CBS since 2010.

A multi-million dollar lawsuit filed today against CBS has the no-nonsense host, the syndicated small claims series and spin-off Hot Bench in the legal spotlight. Seeking widespread unspecified damages, plaintiff Rebel Entertainment Partners claim that it has been denied contractually obligated payments since 2010 from the net profits of the 19-season reality court show distributed by CBS Television because it supposedly is “losing money” while paying Judge Judy herself up to $47 million a year.

These are the directors of Sumner M. Redstone’s entertainment empire, which may soon become the center of a very public power struggle.

The Sunbeam Television-owned Boston station says the loss of its NBC affiliation violates its agreement with the network as well as the conditions of Comcast’s acquisition of NBC. NBC calls it a “meritless lawsuit.”

A federal judge will hear arguments this Thursday involving a contract dispute between the station’s new owner, Gray Television, and Media Gene­ral, the company that has been operating WAGT (NBC) under a long-term contract with former owner Schurz Communications. Gray, owner of Augusta’s WRDW (CBS), says the agreement dissolved when it acquired the NBC affiliate from Schurz. Media General, which owns WJBF (ABC), maintains the joint operating agreement is still in effect.

After a full day of deliberations, the jury said the stalker who secretly recorded a nude video was responsible for 51% of the blame and the two hotel companies would share the rest, which comes out to nearly $27 million. Andrews, a Fox Sports reporter and co-host of the TV show Dancing with the Stars, wept as jurors announced the verdict.

An author is alleging that Fox, Lee Daniels, Danny Strong and others involved in the hit series Empire infringed his copyright, and he is suing for $1.5 billion in damages.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sportscaster and TV host Erin Andrews took the witness stand Monday, breaking down repeatedly and telling jurors of the devastation she continues to feel after a […]