Martin Garbus Calls Les Moonves A Nappy-Headed Ho

Okay, not exactly. But Martin Garbus, the legendary litigator now representing former CBS radio host Don Imus, is coming out swinging.
Yesterday Garbus announced that Imus would sue CBS Radio for the unpaid portion of Imus’s $40 million contract. He said to expect the lawsuit by the end of next week.
Garbus cited a clause in Imus’s contract acknowledging that his show was “unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial.” This language may be part of the contract clause we discussed back in this post.
This morning’s news includes another argument we’ll probably see in the eventual lawsuit. From the AP:

CBS Radio and MSNBC had delay buttons, but didn’t use them when Imus made racist and sexist comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball team, lawyer Martin Garbus said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

“That means CBS and MSNBC both knew the language that was going out, and both knew the language complied with (Imus’) contract. … It was consistent with many of the things he had done,” Garbus said.

Interesting. It sounds like CBS may have a real fight on its hands. And if the matter goes to a jury trial, there may be some sympathy for Imus. Here are the results of our recent ATL poll:

And this poll was taken before we learned about the exact wording of the contract clause, as well as CBS’s alleged failure to use its delay buttons.
Hey Yul Kwon — CBS wants its million dollars back…
Imus Lawyer: We’ll Sue for Full Contract [Associated Press]
Imus Lawyer: Bosses Could’ve Cut Remarks [Associated Press]
Earlier: Is the Nappy-Headed Don Imus Entitled To One Free Bite of the Hoho?

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