Summer Redstone Ordered to Have a Court-Appointed Guardian

Summer Redstone, the 95-year-old controlling shareholder of CBS and Viacom, has been placed under a guardian, presumably because of a speech impediment. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Cowan said he was appointing a guardian because of Redstone’s extreme difficulty in speaking. It is reported that Samuel Ingram, III has been offered the position, who was the court-appointed of Britney Spears after her unfortunate public mental health breakdown in 2008. In this instance, it does not appear that Redstone’s mental capacity is at issue.

The court’s decision on Monday will have no effect on Redstone’s control of his trust, which owns almost 80% of voting stake in the two American media companies. His ownership and control will remain valid until he either dies or is incapacitated. If the latter occurs, the trust would then be overseen by seven trustees, including his daughter, Shari Redstone, and his grandson, Tyler Korff. Redstone has communicated that he approves of the appointment, which is family requested during his court battle with a former girlfriend.

Redstone amended his trust in 2015, removing his former girlfriend as a beneficiary. The ex, Manuela Herzer, claims Redstone’s mental abilities were diminished, which would thus invalidate the amended trust.

See Ariel Zilber, Summer Redstone Ordered to Have a Court-Appointed Guardian Because of a Speech Impediment, Weeks Before Ex-Girlfriend Take him to Court for Cutting her out of his Trust, Daily Mail, December 17, 2018.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.