After just one day of testimony – dominated by the expletive-laden video deposition of former Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone – California Superior Court Judge David Cowan has tentatively dismissed the mental competency lawsuit against the media mogul.

According to reports, Judge Cowan, after reviewing documents submitted by both sides of the case over the weekend,  decided that there is no basis to keep the former Viacom chairman from making his own healthcare decisions.

Redstone’s former girlfriend and caregiver Manuela Herzer filed a lawsuit in November claiming Redstone was not aware of his situation or surroundings and that he had become a “ghost” of his former self. Herzer, who had been dismissed as Redstone’s health care agent and physically removed from his Beverly Hills residence shortly prior to filing the suit, had been seeking to be reinstated as Redstone’s  health care agent.

Herzer and the Redsonte camp were reportedly close to a settlement last month but talks broke down and the trial, which had been expected to last at least a week, began on Friday May 6. The trial started off with an 18-minute video deposition from Redstone, where the former Viacom chairman repeatedly referred to Herzer as a “f***ing b***h and said he had thrown her out of his house for lying to and allegedly stealing from him. During the video testimony, where reports said Redstone had to be asked some questions more than once and needed a translator to decipher some of his answers, the media mogul also said he wanted his daughter Shari Redstone to serve as his health care proxy.

In a statement, Shari Redstone said she was pleased the ordeal is over.

"I am grateful to the court for putting an end to this long ordeal," Shari Redstone said in the statement. "I am so happy for my father that he can now live his life in peace, surrounded by his friends and family."

In his tentative ruling, Cowan said that Herzer failed to produce any evidence that Redstone lacked the mental capacity to make he own health decisions.

According to Reuters, Judge Cowan wrote in his decision that Redstone’s own testimony convinced him that the trial should not continue.

"Redstone's testimony has ultimately defeated her case,” Cowan wrote, according to Reuters. “Though Herzer may have believed that Redstone would not be able to say anything, or be able to understand the questions, Redstone did both."

Lawyers for former Viacom and CBS chairman Sumner Redstone and his ex-companion Manuela Herzer are reportedly in settlement talks and a deal could be reached as early as today, according to several published reports.

While details of the potential settlement are unclear, it would end an increasingly embarrassing chapter in the media mogul’s recent history. Herzer, Redstone’s former girlfriend and caregiver, filed suit in November after she was removed as his official health care agent. Herzer claimed that Redstone was incompetent and lacked the mental capacity to make decisions regarding his own health care.

Herzer was replaced as Redstone’s health care agent by Viacom executive chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman. According to some reports, Dauman relinquished his oversight of his former boss’ health decisions earlier this week to Redstone’s daughter Shari.

A settlement would avoid a lengthy and potentially embarrassing trial. Already depositions that were scheduled to be taken of Dauman and Shari Redstone in anticipation of a May 6 trial date, have been canceled, reports said.

Lawyers for Viacom and CBS chairman Sumner Redstone fired back at his former companion’s claims that he is unaware of his surroundings and unable to make basic decisions about his personal care, claiming the media mogul is as mentally sharp and opinionated as ever.

Redstone’s former companion and self-described caregiver Manuela Herzer painted a disturbing picture of the media boss in a filing in Los Angeles County Court Nov. 24. In that document, Herzer said Redstone had become “a living ghost,” after his former girlfriend, 50-year-old Sydney Holland left him in August.

“Those who know him now describe him as vacant, unable to reliably communicate, unaware of his surroundings and without interest in things that used to excite and engage him,” Herzer said in the filing.

The 92-year-old Redstone’s health has become a concern as the chairman has stepped away from participating in quarterly earnings conference calls and missed both Viacom’s and CBS’ annual shareholder’s meetings this year.

Redstone controls about 80% of Viacom and CBS through his National Amusements Inc. A trust consisting of seven members, including Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, Redstone’s daughter and National Amusements president Shari Redstone, will have voting control of both companies after his death. 

Herzer laid out in excruciating detail Redstone’s current health state, including his daily demands for steak and sex (neither of which he is supposed to have under doctor’s orders). She states that Redstone is incontinent, requires the suctioning of phlegm and fluid from his lungs 15-20 times per day and almost all of the night, communicates mainly through grunts and cannot initiate a conversation.

Herzer claims she was in charge of making most of Redstone’s health decisions from April 2013 to Oct. 12 of this year, when she was asked to leave Redstone’s home by his estate lawyer. On Oct. 16 Dauman, a long-time confidant of the chairman, was put in charge of his health care.

In response to Herzer’s statements on Nov. 25, Redstone’s own lawyers said the Viacom chairman is in good spirits, has control of all of his mental faculties and is fully aware and engaged.

“Let’s be blunt. Ms. Herzer’s baseless demands and allegations are an attempt to take discovery in service of building a record for the post-death trust contest she intends to bring, and have nothing to do with any present (let alone urgent) concern for Mr. Redstone’s protection,” the filing states, adding that he  continues to be under the care of his long-time physician Dr. Richard  Gold and “has the best care money can buy.”

 “This litigation is a farce and it should be summarily dismissed,” the filing continued. “If Ms. Herzer wants to challenge Mr. Redstone’s estate plan, the very least she could do is wait until he dies.”

The filing also included a statement from Dauman, who had visited Redstone in October and November and found the chairman to be “engaged, attentive and opinionated as ever.”  He continued that at a November meeting he and Redstone spoke on several topics, including the business, watched a basketball game and spoke about a movie he had seen recently.

Dauman admitted that Redstone has “a substantial speech impediment,” but said he speaks to him several times a week by telephone and visits with him monthly.