IMUS' LEGAL BLUFF
Willing to work." border="0" width="223">Willing to work.
By PETER LAURIA
May 18, 2007 -- Imus is angling to get back on the air.According to four sources close to the situation, Don Imus' lawyer, Martin Garbus, is trying to use the radio personality's impending lawsuit against CBS Radio, which hasn't been filed yet, as leverage for reinstatement.
But CBS is unmoved, and has already prepared a countersuit that it plans to file the minute Imus starts the legal showdown, say sources close to CBS' legal division.
CBS Radio fired Imus a little over a month ago for using racist language in a poor stab at comedy. But Imus' legal team believes that it can take advantage of a clause in Imus' contract stipulating that he must be warned before being fired for making offensive remarks.
"CBS is in violation of its contract with Imus," said a source, "so their view is risk losing $40 million or more in a lawsuit or bring him back."
However, CBS' legal division, which has enlisted the services of lawyer Jim Quinn of Weil, Gotschal & Manges, has a diametrically different reading of Imus' contract.
According to sources close to the legal division, the countersuit notes that there are at least four provisions in Imus' contract that would allow CBS to terminate him without notice. The countersuit also notes that there are indemnity provisions that make him liable for damages to CBS Radio if its program, station or business is harmed by his actions.
Sources close to the CBS camp insist that Garbus is floating the idea of reinstatement not from a position of strength, but rather one of desperation.
Though the chances of Imus coming back to CBS Radio appear small, he may still resurface on the airwaves - sources confirmed that numerous radio networks have contacted Imus about working together.
Imus' firing has sent a chilling domino effect throughout the radio industry, with CBS Radio also firing personalities JV and Elvis and XM Satellite Radio suspending Opie & Anthony for 30 days for lewd comments. It's worth noting that none of these disciplinary actions were precipitated by the FCC or any other government agencies.
CBS and Martin Garbus both declined to comment for this story.
