Setback For Dan Rather Lawsuit Against CBS

(CBS/AP)  A Manhattan judge has dismissed portions of a lawsuit Dan Rather has filed against CBS and Viacom.

Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman on Thursday allowed the lawsuit to go forward, but struck down the parts of the suit that name Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, CBS President Leslie Moonves and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward.

A lawyer for the defendants, lead outside counsel James Quinn, said the judge's ruling eliminated Rather's core complaints of fraud and breach of good faith and fair dealing.

The lawyer said it was hard to see how the ex-anchor's assertion of a conspiracy between CBS and the Bush administration "will have any traction going forward."

Dan Rather's lawyer, Martin Gold, forcefully disagreed with the defense's characterization of today's motion.

"It's not a setback at all," Gold told CBS News legal analyst Andrew Cohen. "The biggest shock that I had was when I read Jim Quinn's statement…in which he said that it was a great victory for them and all that's left is a garden variety contract dispute, those were his words, and that's just nonsense."

Gold told Cohen that he still planned on deposing all three of the individuals whose names were eliminated from the complaint: Redstone, Moonves and Heyward.

"They were the people who acted on behalf of the company," Gold said, "Corporations act by human beings. Those are some of the major people who functioned on behalf of the company and they have to be deposed."

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Listen to CBS' interview with Dan Rather's attorney, Martin Gold.

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CBS said in a statement: "We are gratified that the court has dismissed the majority of Mr. Rather's claims, including the spurious claims against Mr. Redstone, Mr. Moonves and Mr. Heyward. With respect to the few remaining claims, relevant to his contract, there are no facts to support them and we expect them to be dismissed when the discovery process is complete."

Rather's last months at CBS News were clouded by a disputed story on President Bush's Vietnam-era military service. Rather says his employers made him a "scapegoat" to placate the White House after questions arose about the story.

Quinn told CBS News' legal analyst Andrew Cohen that the contract issue left relates to "whether or not we 'benched' him and whether he had sufficient time on 60 Minutes and 60 Minutes II after he stepped down as the anchorperson."

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Listen to CBS' interview with defense attorney James Quinn.

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"We obviously say we gave him all the time in the world," says Quinn.

Rather narrated the September 2004 report that claimed President Bush skirted some of his duties during his National Guard service and that a commander felt pressured to sugarcoat Bush's record. He maintains the story was true.

But an independent review for the network determined the story was neither fair nor accurate. CBS fired a producer for airing it, and three news executives resigned.

Viacom Inc. is CBS's former parent company.

[libsrweak]

Posted by rushlimpdrug at 06:28 PM : Apr 11, 2008
+ report abuse

face it buddy, dan rather got caught up with all this liberal ''bush bashing''. He made himself a hug mound of liberal Sh*t that simply just dried up..and guess what..the liberal media and the liberal elite ARE NOWHERE TO BE FOUND TO SAVE HIS LIBERAL ARSE..

[veteran72]

Calling all GOPerv Neocon Nazi Cheerleaders and Apologists!!!
Got Bush''s Back???, then you can collect a fortune in cash prizes!!!
Simply show ANY proof that the Little Drunken Crackhead was at his assigned duty station from May, 1972, to May of 1973, and you win the money!!!
What???,.....Nobody''s ever come forward with any documentation???......in all those years???,......
I guess Dan Rather told the truth,.....
Shrub IS an AWOL/Deserter and Coward.......

[rushlimpdrug]

Posted by libsrweak at 11:22 PM

Do you ever post anything interesting or
actually factual?
You are soooo predictable.
Wish you could act like an AMERICAN for once
and just defend other Americans instead of
defending the elite ALL THE TIME.
Same ol'' same ol'' from you.
same old whine from your goat cheese breath.

[taylor2124]

Newsjunky5, yeah, you''re onto something there. It was the Bushes back in 1986, 22 f*cking years ago, who were attacking Dan Rather on the streets of New York. Yeah, that''s it. Also, it was the Bushes (not Son of Sam) who committed all those earlier murders in New York back in 1977. And JFK? yep, that was the Bushes that shot him as well, in 1963. Yep, when in doubt, just assume the Bushes did it. Oh, by the way, you and all your hate-filled libs are complete morons.

[taylor2124]

Dan Rather, scumbag to the world.

[blondbeotch]

newjunky5--3:39---no, they crawl out from under rocks!!!

[newsjunky5]

Just because someone submitted records which may (don''t know for sure) be false. Doesn''t mean the premise is wrong. Maybe Carl Rove put the false informant up to it. Or is Rove too honest to do something like that?

[newsjunky5]

"rowdytexan2--3:02-----you are pathetic!!!!! where do these people come from???????? "
_______________
Obviously not the same place as the Bush family. Texas I think.

[newsjunky5]

Rather asked Bush Sr. a tough question when he was running for president. Bush gave him a nasty, sniping answer (as you would expect). Ever since then they''ve struck back. That''s why questions from the press are always softballs. I wonder if it was Bush who had the guy attack Rather physically that time, remember? "What''s the frequency Kenneth?"

[blondbeotch]

rowdytexan2--3:02-----you are pathetic!!!!! where do these people come from????????