Sumner Redstone denied a one-time girlfriend’s claim that he is incapacitated in a battle over the 92-year-old media billionaire’s empire, which includes his control of Viacom Inc and CBS Corp.
Manuela Herzer claimed in a lawsuit that the chairman of CBS and Viacom has become incompetent and unable to handle any decisions related to his healthcare, finances or anything else, drawing a swift rebuke from Redstone’s lawyer.
“Ms Herzer’s claim that she filed this lawsuit out of concern for Mr Redstone is preposterous,” Gabrielle Vidal said in a statement. “It is a meritless action, riddled with lies, and a despicable invasion of his privacy. It proves only that Ms Herzer will stop at nothing to pursue her personal financial agenda.”
Photo: AP
In a letter to Redstone’s attorneys last month, one of Herzer’s lawyers, Carol Johnston, claimed Redstone might have been “the victim of undue influence” when he told Herzer, a long-time friend, to move out of his home.
The letter, along with his rebuttal, was provided by a spokeswoman for Redstone.
“Manuela Herzer is genuinely concerned about Sumner’s health,” Pierce O’Donnell, her lawyer, said in a telephone interview. “She’s the person he selected to be with the rest of his life and to make critical decisions about his health.”
Claims by Redstone’s lawyers that she is only concerned about the inheritance are “demonstrably false,” he said.
According to court filings, Redstone ordered Herzer out of his home on Oct. 12. She had moved in in August, according to Redstone’s filing, after he had directed his “then-girlfriend” to leave the premises.
According to a Sept. 3 advance healthcare directive, Herzer was given authority to make decisions for Redstone if he were not able to do so himself any longer.
Herzer, who has been Redstone’s friend for almost 20 years, was “blindsided” when she was told to leave his home without being allowed to talk to him, according to Johnston’s Oct. 13 letter. She seeks a court ruling that Redstone lacked capacity to revoke the advance healthcare directive.
Redstone appeared to be manipulated to turn him against Herzer, according to Johnston’s letter. It has all the indications of “undue influence, fraud and duress,” the lawyer said.
The billionaire has two adult children and five adult grandchildren. Redstone met Herzer in 1999 and they dated for about two years, according to her filing.
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