Sumner Redstone’s National Amusements, the largest shareholder in Viacom, didn’t mince words after the media company reported sluggish fiscal third quarter results Thursday, laying the blame for the poor showing squarely on management’s shoulders.

National Amusements, Redstone and Viacom management and directors are embroiled in a bloody battle for control of Viacom that is making its way through the court system, so the criticism doesn’t come as a particular surprise. Redstone’s NAI has already voted to oust Viacom chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman and a handful of company directors, while Dauman and the board members in question have claimed their largest shareholder is incompetent and unduly influenced by his daughter, National Amusements and Viacom board member Shari Redstone.

While Dauman continues to fight for his professional life in the courts, he has been under increasing pressure to resign. Few analysts believe that he will be able to survive the Redstone/NAI onslaught, particularly since NAI controls 80% of Viacom’s voting stock. Reports earlier this week said that Dauman had held talks with NAI to settle litigation and hammer out an exit that would put chief operating officer Thomas Dooley in the CEO seat temporarily, while Dauman walks away with an $83 million severance package. Those talks apparently broke down before a previously scheduled Viacom board meeting Aug. 3.

Viacom pre-reported its fiscal third quarter results in June – it said that ad sales would dip about 4% -- so the results shouldn’t come as a big surprise.  Nevertheless, Redstone and NAI saw the official release of the results as another opportunity to point out that their plans to clean house are warranted.

In a two-page press release, NAI pointed to steep declines in revenue growth, earnings, operating performance and shareholder returns, noting that in the past two years Viacom stock has fallen more than 50%.

“National Amusements believes that it is time for Viacom’s current directors to stop supporting failed management and start representing shareholders, by allowing the new board to take the reins, and return the company to its position as an industry leader,” NAI said in a statement.

Dauman said on a conference call that the litigation with Redstone and National Amusements has been a distraction, but that the company is focused on turning itself around, investing in original programming and trying to move forward with the planned sale of a 49% stake in Paramount Pictures. It was the plan to sell that stake, since put on hold as the various litigation winds its way through the courts, that raised Redstone’s hackles in May, when he launched the first of what would be several bombs aimed at his former friend and board members.

"Viacom continues to execute on its strategic plan, which is supported by a majority of its independent board,” Viacom said in a statement. “As discussed by management on this morning’s earnings call, we are looking to the future and executing on the significant growth opportunities we see around the world. In contrast, It is unfortunate that one of our directors feels the need to try to damage the company in response to losses in the courtroom.”

The Massachusetts Probate Court Judge tasked with deciding whether Viacom controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone is competent said he would rule on whether to expedite the case by the end of June, according to reports.

The ruling will drag out for at least another few weeks the continued drama between Viacom executive chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman and Redstone. Tuesday’s hearing was the first around Dauman’s law suit attempting to block Redstone’s moves to remove him and Viacom board member George  Abrams from the trust that will control Redstone’s Viacom stake in the event of his death or incapacitation. Dauman has claimed in the suit that Redstone is no longer competent to make business decisions and is being unduly influenced by his daughter, Viacom board member Shari Redstone.

According to reports, Massachusetts Probate Court Judge George Phelan said he would wait until the end of the month to rule on whether to expedite Dauman’s claims. At the two-and-a-half hour hearing Tuesday, Phelan said he had “a lot to digest,” according to reports.

Dauman claims that Redstone is suffering from dementia, memory loss and can no longer participate in meaningful conversation, including those concerning his business holdings. According to reports, attorneys for Redstone claimed at the hearing that the media mogul has been getting better and has been able to leave his home to visit family and friends.

Judge Phelan said he would hold a hearing on whether to dismiss the by the end of the month as well.

Sumner Redstone’s anger over his former friend and Viacom executive chairman and CEO Philippe Dauman’s decision to sell off a portion of its Paramount Pictures assets reached a head Monday, when the media mogul amended the bylaws of his National Amusements Inc., the vehicle that holds all of his Viacom shares, requiring any sale of the movie studio would need unanimous board approval.

The move all but ends any attempt to sell a stake in the movie studio – Redstone controls 80% of Viacom’s voting shares and sits on the board of both companies. Redstone has increasingly raised the stakes in his battle with Dauman – he first removed him as a trustee in the trust that will hold his Viacom shares after his death or incapacitation in May – and the latest slap evoked a strong response from the Viacom CEO’s camp.

“These illegitimate actions stem directly from the invalid changes made to the National Amusements, Inc. board and are completely at odds with good corporate governance,” a spokesman for Dauman said in a statement. “They are clearly intended to impede the ability of the Viacom Board of Directors to fulfill its obligations to all stockholders, including the public non-controlling stockholders who own 90% of the equity of Viacom."

Dauman has sued Redstone in a Massachusetts court claiming his former boss is no longer competent to handle his affairs. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for tomorrow.

“While National Amusements is not opposed to a transaction that would unlock value at Paramount, it firmly believes that any proposed transaction should be thoroughly vetted and approved by Viacom’s full board, and the rationale for such a transaction should be clearly articulated to Viacom’s stockholders in advance,” NAI said in a statement.

Dauman has said he has received several offers for the Paramount stake and hoped to seal a deal as early as the end of this month. Analysts have favored a sale of a partial stake in the studio, adding that it could help to reduce overall debt.

After a dodging a bullet via a brief court battle that saw his former caregiver's attempt to have him declared incompetent tossed out of court, Viacom controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone apparently has reloaded his rifle, taking aim at his long-trusted confidant Philippe Dauman, seeking to have Viacom executive chairman and CEO removed from the trust that will control the company after the media mogul's death.

According to Fortune magazine and since confirmed by Viacom, Sumner  Redstone, through his lawyer Michael Tu, informed Dauman and Viacom board member George Abrams that they have been removed from the trust via fax. The trust was set up through National Amusements Inc. -- Redstone's theater chain business -- to hold his 80% voting control of Viacom and CBS. In the event of his death the trust would be managed by a seven-member committee that included Shari Redstone (also vice chairman of National Amusements), her son Tyler and her mother's divorce attorney. Since it is expected that Shari Redstone would replace Dauman and Abrams with trustees more sympathetic to her position, her power in the event of the death of her father rises exponentially.

In a statement, Shari Redstone said "I fully support my father’s decisions and respect his authority to make them.”

Because National Amusements is separate from Viacom, the most recent developments shouldn't affect Dauman's standing as executve chairman and CEO of the media company. But Shari Redstone  has increasingly become critical of his stewardship -- she was the lone board member who voted against Dauman being named executive chairman after her father gave up the title. 

Dauman has been a trusted advisor to Sumnr Redstone since the beginning -- he helped him win Paramount as a young Boston lawyer -- and has been regularly praised by the founder as one of the smartest men he knows. But Viacom has foundered under his watch, as ratings and its stock price have plunged.

Through a spokesman, Dauman called Shari Redstone's steps "invalid and illegal."

"They are a shameful effort by Shari Redstone to seize control by unlawfully using her ailing father Sumner Redstone's name and signature,"Dauman's spokesman said. "As she knows and as court proceedings and other facts have demonstrated, Sumner Redstone now lacks the capacity to have taken these steps. Sumner Redstone would never have summarily dismissed Philippe Dauman and George Abrams, his trusted friends and advisors for decades."

Redstone's capacity has  question in recent months. Back in November, when Redstone's former girlfriend and caregiver Manuela Herzer was attempting to have Dauman removed as health care agent for the then-Viacom chairman, Dauman claimed in statements that Redstone was "engaged, attentive and opinionated." 

Herzer's suit, whcih called Redstone a "living ghost" unaware of his surroundings, was dismissed  by a California court after the media mogul's profanity-laden videotaped deposition on the first day of the trial, where he appeared lucid and vehemently denied any desire to have Herzer run his affairs. Although his speech was slurred -- the result of an earlier minor stroke -- Redstone said through an interpreter that he threw Herzer out of his house for lying to and allegedly stealing from him.

According to Fortune, Sumner Redstone has been angered at recent moves by Dauman to sell a minority interest in Paramount Pictures, the movie studio that Redstone battled to gain control of in the 1980s. He was prompted to oust Dauman and Abrams from the trust after expressing concern about company performance to them and receiving no response, according to reports.

Abrams, who has been with Redstone for more than half a century, also expressed sadness at the most recent developments.

“I have known and represented Sumner Redstone for over 50 years," Abrams said in a statement.  "I worked closely with him on the building of his theater chain, the acquisitions of Viacom, Paramount and CBS and countless business matters relating to all three of those entities as well as National Amusements.  I have also handled many personal matters for Sumner.  Above all, he is my friend.  The Sumner Redstone I knew would never have taken this action.  What is going on now is unsettling and sad.” 

In a statement, Viacom said the moves by Shari Redstone come as a surprise.

"The actions taken yesterday in Sumner Redstone’s name are completely inconsistent with his long expressed wishes and intent and extremely disruptive and damaging to Viacom and all its shareholders," Viacom said in its statement. "...The picture is quite clear, Mr. Redstone is being manipulated and used by his daughter in an attempt to accomplish her long-held goal, which Mr. Redstone has always opposed, of gaining control of National Amusements and Viacom."

Viacom claims there has been no communication from Sumner Redstone himself, and that during an in-depth strategy session with Viacom's board Tuesday evening -- where both Redstones were participating via phone -- no mention was made of any concerns regarding the trust.

"The only contact was a written communication on Tuesday from Mr. Tu, a lawyer previously unknown until this week to anyone associated with Sumner other than Shari Redstone," Viacom said in a statement. "It is clear that Shari Redstone has isolated her father and put his residence on lockdown, which provides clear evidence of her exercise of undue influence. Despite many attempts by members of Viacom's board, including the lead independent director, to meet with Sumner they have been denied access. Mr. Tu, when asked by the board’s independent counsel in response to Mr. Tu’s letter, could not even confirm he has met Mr. Redstone."

Earier this month Viacom's board of directors moved to eliminate Sumner Redstone's annual compensation, a move that lead independent director Fred Salerno said in a statement was made because of Redstone's lack of involvement in company matters.  

"We took this action based upon his recent complete lack of communication with the Viacom Board and management team and his silence during recent board meetings, as well as recent public disclosures raising concerns about his health," Salerno said in the statement. "In addition, despite numerous requests, I, along with the Chair of Viacom’s Governance and Nominating Committee, have been denied access to Sumner for a face-to-face meeting.

"The Independent directors are fully engaged and will carefully monitor actions at National Amusements, which is the controlling shareholder of Viacom," Salerno continued. "We are also continuing to work closely with the management team of Viacom and we fully endorse the strategy for the future of Viacom that the team presented at the Board’s day-long strategy meeting this week. We have great respect for Sumner and what he has accomplished. Our overarching duty is to represent the interests of all shareholders — in the same spirit that Sumner Redstone always led our Board to do.  We will continue to fulfill that role and uphold our fiduciary responsibility to ensure that Viacom’s interests are protected in concert with good governance practices.”