CBS Radio sues Howard Stern for breach of contract

After sparring with US regulators for much of his career on broadcast radio, shock jock Howard Stern and his new employer, Sirius Satellite Radio, are locked in a major legal battle with his former bosses at CBS Corp.

CBS Radio slapped Stern, agent Don Buchwald and Sirius with a 43-page lawsuit accusing them of breach of contract and fraud stemming from the ribald radio host's much-ballyhooed move to satellite in January.

The suit, seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, was described by Stern as "a personal vendetta" launched by CBS chief Leslie Moonves in response to the network's sagging radio fortunes since Stern left. "Les has had it in for me for a long time. I don't deserve it," Stern told a news conference at his lawyer's office.

The suit, filed in New York Supreme Court, also named Stern's production company, One Twelve Inc. It claims multiple breaches of contract, fraud, unjust enrichment, and misuse of CBS broadcast time. The complaint seeks damages from Sirius for unfair competition and interference with Stern's CBS contract.

A spokesman for Sirius Satellite said the company had not yet received the lawsuit.

The suit says Stern profited from promoting Sirius during his CBS Radio broadcasts. It specifically seeks to claim from Stern and his agent more than 34 million shares of Sirius stock, valued at about $220 million, that they received for exceeding subscriber targets set in his contract. It also seeks all the revenue Sirius gained by adding more than 1 million new subscribers between the announcement of Stern's deal and his departure from CBS. It further demands Stern repay CBS Radio all the compensation he received from them during the 14 months.

CBS Radio also charges Stern breached various aspects of his contract and Sirius encouraged him to breach them. Stern said his deal with Sirius was all above board.

Source: Media Network, Reuters

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