Sumner Redstone to testify in Dan Rather litigation

By Matthew Belloni

Back when we practiced law, we used to joke with colleagues about who the worst client in the world would be. Britney Spears (in the Federline era) always came up. Mike Tyson got votes. Courtney Love? Maybe.

We never considered Viacom honcho Sumner Redstone but we should have. Nothing could be scarier for a lawyer than coaching an 86-year-old loose-canon billionaire through testimony that could potentially lose his company millions of dollars. 

Some attorney's nightmare came a step closer to reality today. The judge overseeing Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS and top execs refused to dismiss the case and ordered that testimony be taken from several witnesses, including Redstone. Rather wants to show that the man who didn't have a problem firing Tom Cruise wanted him terminated in the wake of the scandal over a 2004 report on President George W. Bush's National Guard service.

CBS lawyers at the Weil Gotshal firm argued that Redstone doesn't remember anything, and that deposing him would be a waste. But the court disagreed, setting a December hearing date and ordering depositions to start. According to Reuters, Redstone's testimony will be limited to a half day. We're hoping Redstone takes the opportunity to tell Rather's lead lawyer, Martin Gold at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, what he really thinks of Rather. Because the worst client in the world is usually the best for everyone else.