Les Moonves is challenging the decision made by the CBS board to withhold his $120 million severance package.
“Also as previously reported, pursuant to the separation agreement between the Company and Mr. Moonves dated September 9, 2018, any dispute with respect to the determination of whether the Company has grounds to terminate the employment of Mr. Moonves for cause is subject to binding arbitration in accordance with the provisions of the separation agreement if Mr. Moonves makes a demand for binding arbitration within a specified period following the date on which the Board of Directors gives Mr. Moonves notice of the cause termination,” read an EC filing submitted by the company on Wednesday.
“On January 16, 2019, Mr. Moonves notified the Company of his election to demand binding arbitration with respect to this matter. The Company does not intend to comment further on this matter during the pendency of the arbitration proceedings.”
The disgraced executive was set to walk away with a $120 million golden parachute if an investigation into his allegations of sexual misconduct found that there were not grounds to terminate him for cause. In a statement released last month, CBS said that Moonves’ “willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company’s investigation” justified the board’s decision to oust the president and chairman earlier this year. There are few specifics at this time, but it was revealed last week that Moonves had given investigators’ his son Charlie’s iPad instead of his own when asked to hand over the tablet.