By HALLIE DETRICK
Media mogul Sumner Redstone is set to be the latest client of Samuel Ingham, who previously served as a court-appointed conservator for pop star Britney Spears.
Redstone, the controlling shareholder of CBS and Viacom, was ruled incapacitated by a Los Angeles Judge on Monday. Ingham was appointed as an independent legal guardian.
The ruling came as part of ongoing litigation about Redstone’s trust. Manuela Herzer, a former companion of Redstone’s, filed a lawsuit to be reinstated in his will after she was written out in 2016. That lawsuit has been withdrawn, but earlier this year Redstone filed to preserve the 2016 change.
Herzer’s lawyers have argued that Sumner Redstone’s daughter, Shari Redstone, is directing the litigation, and lawyers for Sumner Redstone and his grandson, Tyler Korff, asked for a review of his competence to prevent appeals on those grounds at a later date.
The judge ruled that Sumner Redstone was incapacitated on the grounds of a severe speech impairment, but specified that the ruling had no bearing on his mental competence.
"Merry New Year!"
