CBS made a business decision to get rid of Imus because sponsers were threatening to leave if they didn't. When they signed their contract with Imus he was already established as a snotty, insulting bigot. For them to pretend that they were morally outraged by what he said or that they were ignorant about who he was is pure crap.
They knew exactly who he was and they made tons of money off of his vicious, snide, racially and ethnically insensitive humour. They're the ones who should bare the blame for what he did since they gave him the megaphone to yell into.
This looks to me like a basic breach of contract law suit.
A source tells Fortune that Imus' contract urged him to be "confrontational and irreverent," and that he was promised a warning before he was fired.
The words he used were not among the seven you can't say on the radio. Legally they can't justify firing him. If the Yankees have to pay Carl Pavano, then CBS should definitely have to pay Imus.
It's a slap in the face that CBS deserves. Make the station bare some f-ing responsibility.