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Tensions between veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley and CBS News came to a head earlier this month when the media company fired Pelley from his long-standing post. Said decision came down days after Pelley reportedly had a heated meeting with new series EP Nick Bilton and accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of “murdering” the news magazine show. Considering everything that’s transpired, there’s now speculation regarding whether Pelley might sue his former employers, and a legal analyst has since chimed in.
As of this writing, Scott Pelley himself has not publicly confirmed whether or not he’ll take any sort of legal action against CBS News. All the while, though, lawyer and writer Neama Rahmani spoke to NewsNation’s Jesse Weber Live about the odds of Pelley taking the Paramount Skydance-owned news entity to court. Rahmani – the President of the West Coast Trial Lawyers – thinks Pelley will indeed file suit on the grounds of alleged wrongful termination, and he also theorized about CBS’ response:
I think he will absolutely sue for wrongful termination. You’re talking about a newsroom in disarray, and I think CBS is likely to settle that case, because the last thing, especially if it’s a case in New York civil court and it’s going to be public, the last thing CBS and Paramount want is discovery and depositions, and all the nastiness that we’ve seen when these lawsuits, which are public, end up in [the media]. I think if it’s arbitration, we may see less of a chance of a settlement, because, of course, arbitrations are confidential. They’re not in the public eye, but it doesn’t prevent the lawyers from leaking things to the press.
Pelley was fired “for cause” as part of what the Eye Network referred to as a “performative display of hostility.” Given that reasoning for the termination, the company isn’t aiming to pay out the remainder of Pelley’s contract, as laid out by NewsNation. Rahmani also discussed the alleged behavior that supposedly got Pelley fired and how that factors into the “for cause” aspect of all this:
Insubordination usually is a ‘for cause’ termination but, of course, Pelly’s going to argue that he was asked to do something unethical, maybe even unlawful. So he was fired for being a whistle blower and, in any state, including New York, that is unlawful termination and retaliation. So it’s going to be really important. That’s why you see Pelley’s statement. He’s trying to set up that legal case.
The statement Rahmani is referring to is the one shared by Pelley in response to Weiss’ own comments on his firing. Weiss spoke out shortly after Pelley was let go and said that she and execs tried to “find a way back” with the long-time correspondent before ultimately deciding to “part ways” with him. Pelley eventually disputed that claim, though, saying that “there was no effort of any kind to find a way back.” Per Rahmani, should Pelley decide to sue, those specific comments could be crucial to his case.
Scott Pelley’s firing came amid a host of other changes at 60 Minutes, as several employees – including former EP Tanya Simon and fellow correspondents Cecilia Vega and Sharyn Alfonsi – were let go. This all came over a year after veteran producer Bill Owens stepped down from his post, with Pelley explaining that was due to an alleged loss of editorial autonomy. Owens has since defended Pelley’s murder comments, and others, including former 60 correspondent Steve Kroft have backed up Pelley’s claims about “journalistic interference” at the network.
Meanwhile, it’s been alleged that “morale is terrible” at CBS News in the aftermath of Pelley’s ousting. It’s also been reported, though, that Nick Bilton and co. are aware of the negative headlines surrounding the show right now. With that, Bilton purportedly aims to steer 60 Minutes in a more positive direction moving forward. As Pelley continues to chastise leadership for the choices that have been made, the public can only wait and see if he decides to initiate a lawsuit.
