Rather v. CBS, Round 1: Everybody Wins

It sounds like Dan Rather came out on top yesterday in a hearing for his $70 million lawsuit against CBS. Rather's lawyer sounded triumphant in a statement put out after the hearing:

"We're pleased that the Judge gave such a positive preliminary ruling with respect to the defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint. Justice Ira Gammerman indicated that when he makes his formal ruling, the motion to dismiss will be largely denied and the essence of the case will proceed. Accordingly, he denied the defendants' motion to stay discovery."

But wait! It turns out CBS issued a post-hearing statement of its own. And the network isn't just "pleased." No, sir; it's "very pleased":

We are very pleased that the judge is seriously considering our motion to dismiss the case, and we eagerly await his decision on that motion. In that regard, the court indicated that portions of the lawsuit may not survive our motion to dismiss. In the meantime, the court has said that discovery can begin subject to agreement on its scope by the parties, which is standard procedure in this Court. We look forward to discussing with Mr. Rather's representatives what that scope might be.

So if everybody's feeling groovy about the way things are going, maybe we can settle this whole thing amicably?