The battle over the health of mogul Sumner Redstone has been in the news recently as his former paramour is challenging his competency to make a series of estate changes in the last year. In particular, the former girlfriend was removed as the decision maker in Redstone’s health care directive and sued claiming undue influence by Shari Redstone over her father. Recently, a Los Angeles judge ruled that the medical records of Redstone were not related to a public matter and were to be sealed from disclosure. However other records, including emails from nurses taking care of the aging billionaire, are to be released as the case moves forward. Lawyers representing Mr. Redstone expressed satisfaction with the ruling stating they were pleased with the judge respecting the “privacy and dignity” of their client. However, lawyers for the girlfriend hammered the decision claiming an “utter disregard” for the health and interest of Redstone. As of now, the case is set to go to trial on May 6th.
See Emily Steel, Sumner Redstone’s Medical Records to Stay Private, Judge Rules, The New York Times, March 18, 2016.
Special thanks to Jay Brinker for bringing this article to my attention.
