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Imus and CBS Reach Settlement of Threatened Suit
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Don Imus has reached a settlement with CBS over his multimillion-dollar contract after his being fired from his morning talk show and is in negotiations with WABC radio to resume his broadcasting career there, CBS and a person familiar with the negotiations said today.
Mr. Imus and CBS Radio “have mutually agreed to settle claims that each had against the other regarding the Imus radio program on CBS,” that network and Martin Garbus, a lawyer for Mr. Imus, said in a joint statement today.
The terms of the settlement will not be disclosed, according to the statement.
The settlement pre-empts a $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit that Mr. Imus, 67, had threatened to file.
CBS and Mr. Garbus confirmed only that the settlement had been reached. The person familiar with the talks told The Associated Press that Mr. Imus was taking steps to make a comeback with WABC. That person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not been announced, also said that the settlement with CBS calls for a “nondisparaging” agreement that forbids the parties from speaking negatively about each other.
The activity comes four months after Mr. Imus created an uproar with his racist and sexist comments about the women’s basketball team at Rutgers University.
Just before his dismissal, Mr. Imus had signed a five-year, $40 million contract with CBS. Mr. Garbus, a well-known First Amendment lawyer, said in May that Mr. Imus planned to sue CBS for $120 million in unpaid salary and damages.
WABC’s general manager, Steve Borneman, did not immediately return a call requesting comment about any potential talks with Mr. Imus.
WABC is a talk-radio station that features radio personalities and shows such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who led the move to fire Mr. Imus for his comments, did not immediately return a call for comment, he did say last month that he would not oppose a return to radio by Mr. Imus.
Mr. Garbus had said Imus would sue for the contract’s unpaid portion. He cited a contract clause in which CBS acknowledged that Mr. Imus’s services were “unique, extraordinary, irreverent, intellectual, topical, controversial.”
The clause said Mr. Imus’s programming was “desired by company” and was “consistent with company rules and policy,” according to Mr. Garbus.
