Sumner Redstone, Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) chairman, can be deposed in former CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather's lawsuit against his former employer, a state judge has ruled.

New York State Judicial Hearing Officer Ira Gammerman ruled at a hearing Monday that Redstone can be deposed in Rather's $70 million lawsuit against CBS Corp. (CBS), said Gary Meyerhoff, a lawyer for Rather. Redstone isn't a defendant in the case.

"It is now obvious that this is far more than just a contract dispute," Meyerhoff said. "It goes to the integrity of the gathering and reporting of important national news."

Separately, CBS said the court expressed skepticism that deposing Redstone would prove in any way relevant to the case and the court agreed with CBS's request that any such deposition be limited to no more than half a day.

A Viacom spokesman didn't immediately have a comment when reached Monday.

The next hearing in the case is set for Dec. 22. Meyerhoff, Rather's lawyer, said the judge has expressed a desire to bring the case to trial promptly.

However, a state appeals court is currently considering whether the case itself should be allowed to proceed.

Rather has alleged in part that CBS violated his contract by failing to provide him enough air time on "60 Minutes" or "60 Minutes II" after removing him as anchor of CBS Evening News in March 2005 following a controversy over a 2004 report about President George W. Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard.

Rather, who first joined CBS News in 1962, also claims CBS conducted a biased investigation - instead of the independent probe it promised into the underlying story and its production. Rather left the network in June 2006.

Viacom was CBS' corporate parent at the time. CBS was spun off from Viacom in 2006.

In its statement, CBS said the court reserved decision on the network's motion to dismiss a fraud claim by Rather.

"This is the fourth attempt in two years by Mr. Rather's lawyers to present a legal claim of fraud to the court," CBS said. "We are confident it, too, will be dismissed."

-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017; chad.bray@dowjones.com