CBS loses bid to dismiss Dan Rather lawsuit

[cal04]

Source: Reuters

A New York judge on Monday rejected CBS Corp's bid to dismiss former TV news anchor Dan Rather's $70 million lawsuit claiming he was fired over a controversial election-year report on former President George W. Bush's Vietnam War-era military service.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Ira Gammerman set a December 22 hearing in the case and directed that testimony be taken from witnesses, including Sumner Redstone, the chairman of Viacom Inc, which controlled CBS at the time.

"Let's get this case moving," Gammerman said. "I would really like to get this case ready for trial."

Rather, 77, sued CBS, its Chief Executive Leslie Moonves and former CBS News President Andrew Heyward for fraud over his firing from the network, his home for more than four decades, over the report on Bush's military record.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_cbs_rather

[bemildred]

1. All of these CEOs need to be held to account for their actions.

Sue them until they are broke.

[rfranklin]

5. Unfortunately, they will not be individually held responsible...

They probably have it written into their contracts that they are indeminified.

[bemildred]

9. Tell that to Kenny Lay.

Or Bernie Maddow. Or lots of others.

[wroberts189]

22. Yep. Which is exactly the problem with corporate "personhood"..

All of the rights... with no accountability.

I hope Rather wins. He says he will not settle out of court.

[tclambert]

52. "Corporations have neither bodies to be punished, nor souls to be condemned;

they therefore do as they like." - Edward Thurlow

I've heard it rephrased as: "Corporations have no souls to save, and no bodies to incarcerate."

[Scurrilous]

2. Great news!

K & R :thumbsup:

[Captain Hilts]

3. Go get 'em Dan-o! nt

[RC]

4. I hope Dan wins big time. Also the truth comes out about bu$h's missing 2 years.

[AlbertCat]

7. Also the truth comes out about bu$h's missing 2 years.

The truth IS out....

He wasn't where he said he was. He was AWOL. A deserter. Period.

[lib_wit_it]

8. Yes, but it never hurts to repeat the truth so that those who haven't yet heard it get the chance!

[RC]

17. I know that and you know that, but the real world is still in denial.

[No Elephants]

36. Only if you define "real world" as the 20 or 30% of Americans who are hard core Rethugs.

They would deny anything negative about their Party, even if they believed it.

[IDFbunny]

55. the real world knows but just doesn't care.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

32. This could be interesting!

[IDFbunny]

54. The truth IS out

the proof isn't.

[Cha]

6. Good, now they get

started.

[Maccagirl]

10. Get them under oath, on the record etc etc etc

Money is not the issue here-even though I'm sure Rather would love to win some jack. There's a lot more at stake here than Rather's rep. There is an opportunity for truth and justice-I want to know who set upRather and Mapes (the producer) . IIRC the White House was asked to comment/respond to the story before it aired and they basically said (wink wink) "Go ahead." Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Kind of Blue]

11. YAY! n/t

[crim son]

12. Excellent. I am SO rooting for Dan Rather in this case. n/t

[Dinger]

13. Me Too (nt)

[robcon]

14. Will Rather ever get tired of this lawsuit?

Never ending.

[wroberts189]

23. No... he has stated quite clearly this is not about him and he will not settle. nt

[No Elephants]

38. Bizarre post.

[Enthusiast]

41. Yup, very bizarre.

There's a lot of bizarre going around on DU.

[liberalhistorian]

51. No kidding. He's probably one of those hypocritical

jerks who's against "frivolous" lawsuits ("frivolous" using his own definition, of course, and not really having much to do with the merits of a case) and wants limits on them UNTIL HE needs to file something. Then, of course, HIS lawsuit is never frivolous, oh, no. Been in the legal field long enough to see a LOT of hypocritical jerks like that.

[Enthusiast]

53. And we know for certain that

Dan's suit is anything but frivolous.

This fervor to end what some characterize as the frivolous law suit is a ploy to allow corporations to be even more abusive to both their workers and consumers. I believe we have traveled down that road just about as far as we can.

[unpossibles]

49. no, and the very fact that he isn't giving up

shows that he was likely telling a truth which CBS did not want him to tell. The freepers all still think Rather tried to frame Bush with fake docs, but if Rather had done so knowingly, would he then spend so much time and money on this?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

50. it's ok if you want to watch Faux

but you really shouldn't believe them.

[Robb]

15. Discovery should be AWESOME. nt

[Aragorn]

24. and public

very quickly, most likely.

[blm]

43. The rest of the media piled on against Dan - they'll have little interest in reporting the facts

of the case - they still haven't shared the important fact that the CBS panel 'experts' never found that document to be forged, but, the way they presented the case faulting the vetting gave rise to the narrative that the document was debunked. That...NEVER...happened.

[David Zephyr]

16. K&R for Dan!

CBS had best get into their bunkers. Dan, the man, is on a mission.

I love you, Dan Rather!

[mule_train]

18. This guy sliently went along with millions of Americans getting sent to the dumpster of 'free trade'

and now we're supposed to shed tears to a multi millionare who loses his job at age 70+ ?

(and NO I do not think his reports about Bush were wrong - I just find it hard to cry that he still lives in part in the same world as the 'little people' he never gave a damn about)

[2Design]

19. I am rooting for DAN and the truth of his real story to come to light

GWB did not serve and should have been dishonorably discharged - too many hands in the pot to help this useless man along to ruin our country - and idiots helped it along while those in power hid the truth as they still do

[SpiralHawk]

20. "Oh, shit." - xCommander AWOL (R)

[baldguy]

25. Yeah - what gets lost in all this legal BS is that Rather's report was essentially true.

[No Elephants]

39. Yep. That's why I think someone planted the computer generated version.

Very easy to "de-bunk" the medium. No one even bothered to try to de-bunk the story itself, though.

What would YOU do if your candidate went AWOL from the frickin' Texas Air National Guard and the opposing candidate was in a real unit and had a handful of purple hearts?

[midnight]

21. Yes.... Let's get this case moving....

[robinlynne]

26. score one for the good guys!!!!

[Odin2005]

27. GO DAN!

[orleans]

28. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

let's get this show on the road!

[defendandprotect]

29. Smilie

[myrna minx]

30. K&R n/t

[bleever]

31. CBS broke faith with their mission, and the American people.

Their news division bowed to political/economic pressure and let it skew their coverage of fact.

This is a defense of the role of the Fourth Estate. It's a noble cause.

[Enthusiast]

42. As witnessed by Katie Couric's

interview with Glenn Beck. Why would CBS lend credence to a raving lunatic?

[Vidar]

33. Give 'em hell, Dan!

[Capn Sunshine]

34. choke on it, CBS

it's about time they pay for their cowardice and breach of public faith

[DemoTex]

35. Check Six, Dan.

Always check your six.

[alp227]

37. Dan Rather: Fired for GOOD (but flawed) journalism

For much of his career, Rather was a suckup for the right-wing. This despite his well-known spats with Richard Nixon (1974 press conference) and George H.W. Bush (that infamous 1988 Evening News interview). These two incidents provided the right-wing noise machine with plenty of ammo to cry "LIBERAL BIAS!" But then the National Guard story came up, and BOOM! You couldn't believe how pissed off they were that CBS was pressured to drop Dan.

[road2000]

40. Oh, Danny Boy,

The {ass}wipes are falling. May you beat the crap out of them.

[cal04]

44. Redstone may have to testify over Rather suit

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE58K57U20090922?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews

Rather hopes to show Redstone wanted him fired. CBS lawyers argued that Redstone had no such recollection, and that deposing him would as a result accomplish nothing.

A representative for Redstone had no immediate comment.

[Mad_Dem_X]

45. Yes! Go, Dan!

Make those bastards accountable!

[McCamy Taylor]

46. Go go to trial!

[mod mom]

47. Great news!

[jeremyfive]

48. Good For Dan Rather

Although the letter was obviously a "plant" by Bush operatives, the fact that Bush went AWOL cannot be as easily dismissed. Lots of witnesses there.

Bush was a draft-dodger, and a poor one at that. A less-well-connected reversist would have been court martialed for such behavior.

Why should Dan pay for getting the facts out, even though hampered by a planted letter?

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

56. All my best to Dan! He knows this lawsuit means as much to us, as to him.

If he wins, there will be far more willing to roll the dice on fraud suits against these assholes!!! And, frankly, they deserve to have a slew of suits filed against them!!!