Viacom directors who greenlighted $13 million in compensation to the company's nonagenarian chairman Sumner Redstone dodged a shareholder suit on Wednesday, thanks to a team from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Chancellor Andre Bouchard of the Court of Chancery in Delaware dismissed the suit, ruling the claims were released as part of a settlement agreement Viacom entered in August 2016.

The plaintiffs alleged that Viacom's directors knew Redstone, who is currently 94, was incapacitated and incapable of doing his job, but kept paying him anyway.

Viacom was represented by Stuart Baskin of Sherman & Sterling and Jon Abramczyk of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell.

Bouchard in his decision noted that Redstone was hospitalized several times in 2014 for pneumonia, and that his ability to speak and swallow was allegedly compromised. His paycheck for the year? $12 million.

In 2015, Redstone did not participate in any conference calls with analysts or attend any Viacom board meetings or the annual stockholder meeting, but was still paid $2 million.

In February of 2016, he was designated Chairman Emeritus and was paid $1.3 million until May of that year, when his salary was stopped without public explanation.

A complex and ugly fight ensued over removal of trustees over the trust that will eventually control Redstone's $40 billion empire, a move to amend Viacom's by-laws to permit vacancies on its board to be filled by Viacom's stockholders, and allegations that Redstone's daughter Shari exercised undue influence over him.

The cases settled in 2016.

The plaintiffs in the current case asserted claims derivatively on behalf of Viacom—breach of fiduciary duty and waste of corporate assets, and that Redstone was unjustly enriched.

But Bouchard found that the settlement agreement in the prior litigation shielded the directors.

“The plain language of the Release in the Settlement Agreement … unambiguously provides that Viacom released each of the individual defendants 'from any and all Claims' it had 'by reason of any matter, cause or thin'” arising up to the 'Effective Date' of the Settlement Agreement, which is defined to be August 18, 2016,” he wrote.

“[T]he Court has no basis upon which to ignore the terms of a presumptively valid release of claims and thus must dismiss the complaint,” the judge concluded.

The Skadden team included partners Edward B. Micheletti,  Jay Kasner and Peter Atkins and associate Bonnie David,

Viacom directors who greenlighted $13 million in compensation to the company's nonagenarian chairman Sumner Redstone dodged a shareholder suit on Wednesday, thanks to a team from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Chancellor Andre Bouchard of the Court of Chancery in Delaware dismissed the suit, ruling the claims were released as part of a settlement agreement Viacom entered in August 2016.

The plaintiffs alleged that Viacom's directors knew Redstone, who is currently 94, was incapacitated and incapable of doing his job, but kept paying him anyway.

Viacom was represented by Stuart Baskin of Sherman & Sterling and Jon Abramczyk of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell.

Bouchard in his decision noted that Redstone was hospitalized several times in 2014 for pneumonia, and that his ability to speak and swallow was allegedly compromised. His paycheck for the year? $12 million.

In 2015, Redstone did not participate in any conference calls with analysts or attend any Viacom board meetings or the annual stockholder meeting, but was still paid $2 million.

In February of 2016, he was designated Chairman Emeritus and was paid $1.3 million until May of that year, when his salary was stopped without public explanation.

A complex and ugly fight ensued over removal of trustees over the trust that will eventually control Redstone's $40 billion empire, a move to amend Viacom's by-laws to permit vacancies on its board to be filled by Viacom's stockholders, and allegations that Redstone's daughter Shari exercised undue influence over him.

The cases settled in 2016.

The plaintiffs in the current case asserted claims derivatively on behalf of Viacom—breach of fiduciary duty and waste of corporate assets, and that Redstone was unjustly enriched.

But Bouchard found that the settlement agreement in the prior litigation shielded the directors.

“The plain language of the Release in the Settlement Agreement … unambiguously provides that Viacom released each of the individual defendants 'from any and all Claims' it had 'by reason of any matter, cause or thin'” arising up to the 'Effective Date' of the Settlement Agreement, which is defined to be August 18, 2016,” he wrote.

“[T]he Court has no basis upon which to ignore the terms of a presumptively valid release of claims and thus must dismiss the complaint,” the judge concluded.

The Skadden team included partners Edward B. Micheletti,  Jay Kasner and Peter Atkins and associate Bonnie David,