Sumner Redstone’s granddaughter Keryn Redstone has entered the ongoing lawsuit filed by the mogul’s ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer — but not on the side you might suspect.
Attorneys for Herzer have asked that Keryn, daughter of Sumner’s estranged son Brent and niece of Shari Redstone, be named a co-petitioner in the lawsuit filed in response to Herzer’s removal last October as healthcare supervisor to the 92-year-old magnate whose family business National Amusements controls 80 percent of both CBS and Viacom.
“Keryn Redstone is an insider and a law school graduate who corroborates Ms. Herzer’s allegations,” said Herzer counsel Ronald Richards.
“She confirms the issues with Mr. Redstone’s care, his disdain for his daughter, and is a credible witness, and if the court allows, will be a co-petitioner exposing the conspiratorial efforts to deprive Mr. Redstone of his wishes while he had mental capacity.”
The move places Keryn Redstone squarely opposite her aunt and defendant Shari Redstone, who currently makes decisions in regard to Sumner Redstone’s care.
Amended documents filed Tuesday on behalf of Keryn painted a grim portrait of Redstone’s relationship with Shari, citing years-long estrangement and screaming matches at family functions.
Richards said that Keryn knew “who her ‘grumpy’ wanted in charge of his medical and health decisions, and it is not Shari Redstone and her stockbroker.” The petition, with the added weight of Keryn, seeks to invalidate documents in place that grant Shari control over her father’s treatment.
The documents also paint a harmonious relationship between Keryn and Sumner, built on mutual interests like “film, art, dogs and tennis — which we loved playing together. Even as he aged, Grumpy would regularly beat me at tennis.”
Attorneys for Redstone and Herzer had been close to a settlement of their legal dispute, but those talks broke down several weeks ago. While Sumner will avoid deposition in the case, Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman is expected to be deposed.
Attorneys for Shari Redstone have previously dismissed Herzer’s claims and argued that her motives are purely financial.
“Surviving a motion to dismiss is a far cry from winning her petition. This decision is not a finding on the merits and it does not change the fact that Ms. Herzer’s motives are purely financial,” Shari Redstone’s attorney, Gabrielle Vidal of Loeb & Loeb, said in late February. “We are confident that when the Court has evaluated the evidence it will determine that Mr. Redstone had capacity to change his health care directive and that Ms. Herzer should have no role in his life whatsoever.”