A New York Supreme Court judge made a preliminary ruling to deny CBS’s motion to dismiss ex-anchor Dan Rather’s $70 million lawsuit against them.

The judge, Ira Gammerman said, "I concluded there was enough in the complaint to continue with discovery (pretrial research).”

Rather’s lawyers want access to internal CBS emails, which could get uncomfortable if their office is anything like ours, where NSFW links and derogatory remarks are sent around constantly.

CBS is pretending to be happy that the judge is still (only a little bit) considering dismissing the case, and released the following statement

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.

Hey CBS News may not be in first place, but they know how to dodge the issue just like the big boys.

To avoid any awkward moments with released emails, CBS may settle with Rather. Considering Rather is suing for $70 extra large, they would still end up paying out of the nose. Their other option is to let the case go to trial, and much like re-reading a diary from high school, be embarrassed by their own words.

Either way, Rather wins.

[Photo Credit: birzer via Flickr]