Court Upholds Dismissal of Dan Rather’s CBS Suit

NEW YORK: The New York Court of Appeals declined to give former CBS News anchor Dan Rather a hearing on his dispute with the network. He sued CBS in 2007 for breach of contract, claiming the network marginalized him following an erroneous 2004 report about President Bush’s military record.

A lower New York appellate court dismissed Rather’s $70 million suit last September. His attorney then requested a review from the Court of Appeals, which upheld the lower court’s ruling without comment.

Rather had been with CBS for more than 40 years when he delivered the report about the president. He was subsequently removed as anchor of the “CBS Evening News,” and he claimed his time on the long-time news franchise “60 Minutes” was also reduced. He left the network in 2006.

“Naturally, I am disappointed in today’s ruling because we know it is a grave miscarriage of justice,” Rather said in a statement. “Most of all, I am disappointed that no court or jury studied the evidence and heard the actual facts of the case. The case was dismissed on purely technical grounds.”

A CBS spokesman was quoted in The Wall Street Journal as saying the network was “pleased by the result.”