Redstone nephew suit dismissed

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawsuit filed by Viacom Inc (VIAb.N) executive Chairman Sumner Redstone's nephew charging Sumner with "self dealing" was dismissed, according to a court ruling on Friday.

Judge Allan van Gestel of Massachusetts Superior Court in Suffolk County said the three-year statute of limitation, or the time in which legal action must take place, had been exceeded.

"The original complaint arrived more than two decades too late," Judge van Gestel wrote.

The ruling comes amid a public conflict between the 84-year-old media mogul and his daughter Shari Redstone, once seen as the heir apparent to the family's estimated $8 billion fortune, in a dispute that has thrown into question succession plans for the global media conglomerate.

Michael Redstone, Sumner Redstone's nephew, sued his uncle and father Edward Redstone in November 2006 for cheating him out of a stake in the media conglomerate after his uncle and father arranged the buyback of shares of National Amusements, an entity that controls 80 percent of Viacom, at low prices.

Viacom owns the MTV Networks, Paramount movies studio and Comedy Central.

The disagreement stems back to a 1984 agreement, in which Sumner Redstone bought back the shares held in a trust for his brother's children Michael and Ruth Ann.

Over disagreements with her father, Shari Redstone said in a statement through a spokeswoman last week she would be willing to part with her stake in National Amusements for $1.6 billion.

Sumner Redstone has said he would be willing to buy out her stake "as long as the price is acceptable," according to a faxed letter to Forbes.

Sumner Redstone's son Brent Redstone also sued his father for having "breached his fiduciary duties" by buying back shares of National Amusements at low prices. They settled out of court earlier this year.

(Reporting by Kenneth Li)