LESLIE MOONVES and ANDREW HEYWARD, De
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SCANNED ON 81312009 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK DAN RATHER, Index No. Plaintiff, -against- SUMMONS LESLIE MOONVES and ANDREW HEYWARD, < Defendants. To : Leslie Moonves 51 West 52ndStreet New York, New York 10019-61 1 Andrew Heyward .. .. ~ 73 Scenic Drive Hastings-on-Hudson, New York 10706 You are hereby summoned to answer the complaint in this 'aition and to serve a copy of your answer, or, if the complaint is not served with this summons, to serve a notice of appearance, on the Plaintiffs attorneys within 20 days after the service of this summons, exclusive of the day of service (or within 30 days after the service is complete if this summons is not personally delivered to you within the State of New York); and in case of your failure to appear or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in the complaint. The basis of venue is CPLR $4 301,503. Dated: August 3,2009 SONNENSC By: Martin R. Gold ' ,/ Gary Meyerhoff Edward J. Reich 122 1 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10020 (2 12) 768-6700 Attorneys for Plaintiff Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 1 of 47 SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF NEW YORK DAN RATHER, Index No. Plaintiff, COMPLAINT -against- Plaintiff, Dan Rather, by his attorneys, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP, for his *< .. ’ ..>.., Complaint against Leslie Moonves and Andrew Heyward alleges, upon personal knowledge with respect to his own acts, and upon information and belief with respect to the acts of others, as follows: NATURE OF THE ACTION 1. Plaintiff, Dan Rather, one of the foremost broadcast journalists of our time, seeks to recover damages from Leslie Moonves and Andrew Heyward, senior officers of CBS Corporation (“CBS”), his employer of 44 years, for their fraudulent conduct which has cost Mr. Rather significant financial loss in his chosen trade and profession and seriously damaged his reputation. As explained more fully herein, these claims arise from CBS’s intentional mishandling of the aftermath of a story, broadcast by CBS on September 8,2004, narrated by Mr. Rather and produced by Mary Mapes, on 60 Minutes 11, which concerned the performance of President George W. Bush as an officer in the Texas Air National Guard (“TexANG”) during the Vietnam War (the “Broadcast”). -1- Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 2 of 47 2. The Broadcast reported that, in 1968, high level political influence had facilitated Mr. Bush’s acceptance in the TexANG, thus assuring‘that he would not be required to serve in the war in Vietnam; that after having been trained as a fighter pilot, in 1972, Mr. Bush violated a direct order and failed to appear for a required physical examination; and that high level political influence was again engaged to avoid military discipline and obtain an honorable discharge from the military. 3. The Broadcast incorporated copies of documents written by Mr. Bush’s commanding officer, Lt. Colonel Jerry B. Killian (“Documents”), corroborating important aspects of the story. 4. A broad and, in many instances, well-organized attack on the authenticity of the Documents immediately followed the Broadcast, led by conservative political elements supportive of the Bush administration. The purpose of this attack was to deter CBS News from reporting news in a manner unfavorable to the Bush Administration, and in the process, to diminish the credibility and careers of Mr. Rather, Ms. Mapes and others at CBS News whom they considered to be opponents of the Bush Administration. 5. Throughout his career, Mr. Rather has promoted, championed, and been emblematic of journalistic independence and journalistic freedom from extraneous interference such as governmental, political, corporate or personal interests. CBS’s improper responses to the attacks on the Documents, directed by Mr. Moonves, Mr. Heyward, and others, wrongfully damaged Mr. Rather and these values which he championed. In this action, Mr. Rather seeks substantial damages, both compensatory and punitive, from the defendants for their wrongful acts. -2- Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 3 of 47 6. The wrongful acts by CBS described herein were directed by defendant Leslie Moonves, Chief Executive Officer of CBS, Sumner Redstone, Chief Executive Officer of Viacom, Inc. (“Viacom”), at the time CBS’s corporate parent, and defendant Andrew Heyward, formerly President of CBS News, a division of CBS. 7. Following the Broadcast, CBS announced that it was retaining an independent panel to conduct a thorough investigation into the Broadcast and its production, when in fact its intention was to conduct a biased investigation with controlled timing and predetermined conclusions in order to prevent further information concerning Bush’s TexANG service from being uncovered. That investigation, controlled as it was, exonerated Mr. Rather, but the Broadcast was nevertheless used by CBS as an excuse for wrongful acts committed against him. 8. Central to the plan to pacify the White House was to offer Mr. Rather as the public face of the story, and as a scapegoat for CBS management’s bungling of the entire episode - which, as a direct result, became known publicly as “Rathergate.” CBS management, principally Mr. Moonves and Mr. Heyward, coerced Mr. Rather into publicly apologizing and taking personal blame for alleged journalistic errors in the Broadcast. Moreover, as defendants well knew, even if any aspect of the Broadcast had not been accurate, which has never been established, Mr. Rather was not responsible for any such errors. 9. Thereafter, in a highly publicized effort to purge itself from responsibility and the political repercussions stemming from the Broadcast, shortly after George W. Bush was re- elected as President on November 2,2004, CBS informed Mr. Rather that he was being terminated as anchor of the CBS Evening News With Dan Rather. Thus, the defendants sacrificed Mr. Rather’s journalistic integrity by falsely blaming him for alleged errors in the Broadcast. -3- Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 4 of 47 10. As a further part of the scheme to appease angry government officials, in addition to removing Mr. Rather as anchor of the CBS Evening News With Dan Rather, CBS thereafter minimized his staff, support, air time and public exposure, contrary to the terms of the contract it had signed with Mr. Rather. After his last broadcast as anchor of the CBS Evening News With Dan Rather on March 9,2005, until his departure from CBS on June 16,2006, Mr. Rather was first assigned as a correspondent at 60 Minutes 11, and then at 60 Minutes. However, throughout the period, Mr. Rather was provided with few assignments, little staff, very little air time, and he was not permitted to cover important stories. 11. CBS -- through Mr. Moonves, Mr. Heyward, and executive Gil Schwartz -- made false representations to Mr. Rather to induce him to refrain from making public statements defending the Broadcast and his personal reputation. Defendants and others continuously and falsely assured Mr. Rather that CBS intended to filly use his talents in the near future, that his reputation would be repaired and, critically, that his contract would be extended. In reliance upon such representations, which defendants knew were false, and out of a sense of deep loyalty to CBS News, Mr. Rather complied with these requests throughout the almost two-year period between the Broadcast and his departure from CBS, during which time Mr. Rather refrained from defending the Broadcast or himself, as did CBS and defendants, despite their knowledge that the Broadcast was accurate. However, throughout this period, others at CBS made disparaging public statements concerning Mr. Rather and the Broadcast, which statements defendants did not discourage or disavow. 12. At all times relevant herein, CBS’s parent company, Viacom, and its Chief Executive Officer, Sumner Redstone, considered it to be in its corporate interest to curry favor with the Bush administration by diminishing Mr. Rather’s stature and reputation. At a Viacom -4- Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 5 of 47 board meeting after the Broadcast, Mr. Redstone was reported to have become enraged that the Broadcast had hurt CBS in the eyes of the Bush administration, and exclaimed that Mr. Rather and anyone associated with him must go. Viacom and Mr. Redstone supported, encouraged, ordered and condoned the wrongful acts by defendants described herein. 13. The defendants’ behavior constituted fraud and greatly damaged Mr. Rather, both through business injury in his chosen trade and profession and through injury to his personal reputation. Such wrongful acts also have damaged and diminished the independence and quality of CBS News and the important journalistic functions it performs. PARTIES 14. Mr. Rather is a resident of the City, County and State of New York. 15. Defendant Leslie Moonves is a resident of both the City, County and State of New York, and of Los Angeles, California, and at all relevant times has been Chief Executive Officer of CBS, and is subject to this Court’s jurisdiction pursuant to CPLR 301 and 302. 16. Defendant Andrew Heyward is a resident of the County of Westchester, State of New York, and at all relevant times until November 2005 was president of CBS News, a division of CBS. JURISDICTION AND VENUE 17. Jurisdiction and venue are proper pursuant to CPLR 5s 301 and 503 because Mr. Rather is a resident of the City, County and State of New York. 18. This action is related to another case pending in this Court, Dan Rather v. CBS Corporation, Index No. 603 121/07, pending before the Hon. Ira Gammerman (the “First Action”). Plaintiff brings this separate lawsuit so as to replead his fraud claim against individual -5- Supreme Court Records OnLine Library - page 6 of 47 defendants Moonves and Heyward, who were previously dismissed from the First Action.