Editors’ Note: January 11, 2019

An earlier version of this column included remarks from an interview published in December in “Agenda,” an industry publication, that were attributed to Leslie Moonves. The validity of the “Agenda” interview has since been called into question. On Thursday, “Agenda” removed Mr. Moonves’s comments and published an editor’s note which stated, in part, that a spokesperson for Mr. Moonves issued a statement denying that Mr. Moonves spoke with reporters from “Agenda.” The thrust of this column — that CBS is obliged to pay Mr. Moonves’s legal bills should he decide to sue the company — is accurate, but the excerpted comments from the “Agenda” article have been removed. The retracted comments were also cited in a picture caption.

CBS’s board was emphatic this week that the ousted chief executive Leslie Moonves “will not receive any severance payment,” slamming the door on his quest to collect $120 million.

Case closed?

Hardly. In the arcane world of chief executive contracts and compensation policies, this legal battle may only be beginning.

Mr. Moonves has the right to challenge the board’s decision in a confidential arbitration proceeding, and he could also sue for breach of contract.