CBS - FAMILY FEUD ENDS AS REDSTONE SETTLES SON'S LAWSUIT

Apparently ending an embarrassing family feud, Sumner Redstone, whose National Amusements company controls Viacom and CBS, has settled a lawsuit filed by his son Brent. In the lawsuit, filed one year ago, the younger Redstone had claimed that his father and sister Shari had frozen him out of the decision-making process at National Amusements, in which Brent, like Shari, holds a one-sixth interest. The stakes were placed in a trust that Brent and Shari could not access. At the time the suit was filed, National issued a statement saying that it was "unfortunate that Brent Redstone is abusing the court system in an attempt to extract a financial settlement in a family dispute." Word of the settlement, which first appeared on the Wall Street Journal's website on Sunday, contained few details, except that 80 percent of National Amusements will now be owned by Sumner Redstone and 20 percent by Shari. Brent's one-sixth interest in the company, said to be worth about $1.5 billion, was repurchased by National Amusements, the Journal said.

06/02/2007