Dauman and Abrams sued in May, claiming Redstone was mentally incapacitated when he ousted them from his National Amusements Trust, which controls 80 percent of Viacom shares. The months-long drama has unsettled staff, delayed deals and left many questioning what’s next for the company, which also owns cable-TV channels including MTV and Nickelodeon.

Three States

The fight has led to lawsuits in three states, with Redstone suing in Delaware to confirm his decisions to remove Dauman and four other Viacom directors. He also is asking a California judge to ratify his decision to remove Dauman and Abrams from the trust while contending with an ex-girlfriend’s claims that he’s unable to make his own health-care decisions. The outcome of the Massachusetts suit could affect the other cases.

Dauman, who has been president and CEO of Viacom for almost a decade, claims the aging billionaire suffers from a neurological disorder and can’t walk, read or participate in meaningful conversation. Redstone has a feeding tube and rarely leaves his California mansion, Dauman says.

Redstone, who has rarely been seen in recent years, has stopped speaking at quarterly earnings calls and hasn’t appeared at other public company events. He stepped down from the chairmanship in February, ceding the position to Dauman, his longtime protege.

Dauman and Abrams want Phelan to order a mental examination to determine if Redstone was lucid when he removed them as trustees. A Delaware Chancery Court judge is holding off ordering a similar exam while awaiting the decision in Massachusetts. Fred Salerno, another ousted director, has sued Redstone and his daughter in that state challenging his removal from the board.

Three Doctors

Redstone’s lawyers say the billionaire can be deemed incompetent only if a panel of three doctors declare him so under the trust’s terms. Until then, Redstone has the power to remove overseers of the entity, created to hold his multi-billion-dollar Viacom interest in trust for his grandchildren. While alive, Redstone has sole voting power over the media conglomerate’s shares.

The trust case should be heard in California, where the billionaire moved in 2003 after divorcing his wife and where the entity is administered, his lawyers said. California provides jury trials on mental-competence questions, Kleiger said.

“Mr. Redstone has made this absolutely clear that he wants this decided in his home state,” the attorney said.