Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle

What happened

A Nevada commissioner denied a request by Rupert Murdoch and his oldest son, Lachlan, to amend their family's irrevocable trust so the patriarch's other three eldest children — Prudence, Elisabeth and James — have no control over the business empire when their father dies, The New York Times said Monday, citing Saturday's sealed ruling.

Who said what

In an "at times scathing" ruling, the Times said, Commissioner Edmund Gorman Jr. called the proposed changes a "bad faith" and "carefully crafted charade" to "stack the deck in Lachlan Murdoch's favor." Rupert Murdoch, 93, wanted Lachlan to have sole control of "the world's most powerful conservative media empire" to "lock in Fox News' right-wing editorial slant" from any moderating efforts by the more liberal James and Elisabeth, the Times said. Under the trust, the four siblings have equal votes after their father dies.

Murdoch's children had secretly begun discussing how they would handle their father's death in April 2023, prompted by an episode HBO's "Succession" where "the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos," Gorman's ruling said. The Murdochs are "one of the inspirations behind the hugely popular TV series," the BBC said.

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What next?

The case will "now move to a district judge who could choose to affirm the recommendation, deny it or send it back for additional inquiry," The Washington Post said.