Billionaire “bond king” Bill Gross and his girlfriend, who are locked in a legal battle with their Laguna Beach neighbor over an art installation and noise complaints, told an Orange County Superior Court judge Monday they have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, postponing their testimony in restraining order hearings.
The founder of Pacific Investment Management Co. and his “life partner,” former tennis pro Amy Schwartz, said they intend to have coronavirus tests on Tuesday.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Knil, who heard testimony on Monday from a landscaper and an audio expert, said she would now take a “hybrid approach” to the proceedings with witnesses now resuming with remote testimony until Gross and Schwartz are again available to testify in person.
Gross and his neighbor, Mark Towfiq, are embroiled in dueling restraining order requests involving complaints centering around an art installation on Gross’ property.
Towfiq contends that netting around the installation blocks his view and that when he filed a complaint with the city, Gross and Schwartz retaliated by blasting loud music such as the TV theme songs from “Gilligan’s Island,” “M.A.S.H.” and “Green Acres.”
Gross has countered that Towfiq has shown an obsession with the PIMCO founder, “peeping” on the couple.
The revelation in court about possible exposure to COVID-19 followed on the heels of Gross issuing an “open letter” to his neighbor on Monday calling on a resolution in the case and a donation of the attorneys’ fees to charity. That offer was flatly rejected by Towfiq.
The 76-year-old Gross, citing the ongoing pandemic, said his dispute with his neighbor pales in comparison.
“In the midst of this terrible global tragedy, a portion of the media is transfixed by … a man who plays the theme song to a 1960s sitcom, and another who records him doing so,” Gross wrote in the letter. “While greater legal minds than mine can — and are — arguing about the merits of the highly publicized case against my neighbor (and my neighbor against me), I don’t think many people would contend this litigation deserves the attention it has received during the deadliest pandemic in a century. Never mind the public resources the case has commanded from the courts, law enforcement, and the city of Laguna Beach as it escalated far beyond an ordinary dispute among neighbors.”
Gross also noted the recent surge in COVID-19 cases that led to a new stay-at-home order from the governor.
Gross added, “We are showing up in person in court, sitting just a few inches from one another for hours, and forcing ourselves, our lawyers and the court staff to be exposed to unnecessary risk over something that never should have reached a courtroom in the first place. I strongly believe in my case and my concerns about invasion of privacy, but at the end of the day the lawsuits are about videotaping and music. The absurdity would be laughable even to me if I wasn’t a direct participant.”
Towfiq’s attorney, Jennifer Keller, said, “This is just billionaire Bill Gross trying to buy his way out of accountability for his horrible behavior. He is losing the trial badly and is literally on the event of being cross-examined about his harassment and false statements, which he is desperate to avoid.
“It’s also a stunt to stem the tide of negative press the public exposure of his actions has produced,” she alleged. “If he really wanted to settle the case, he’d agree in writing to stop the illegal harassment, remove the illegal `art installation’ and soccer-goal like netting, apologize to Mr. Towfiq for his awful lies about him, and compensate Mr. Towfiq for the attorneys fees Gross has forced him to expend. But you don’t settle cases with self-serving press releases.”
Gross’ attorney, Jill Basinger, fired back that Towfiq’s rejection “proves our assertion that his claims are nothing more than a thinly veiled publicity stunt and money grab, and that he cares about no one other than himself. The fact that someone with his degree of wealth would reject this opportunity to help those considerably less fortunate than he is, I believe, speaks volumes about his character — or lack thereof.”
Gross said he would still donate money to charity with or without a settlement.
“I intend to calculate my legal fees and court expenses that I have already spent and will spend in this case, and will donate the proceeds to Laguna Beach and Orange County charities by this Friday,” he said. “My offer to Mr. Towfiq was never intended to `buy’ my way out of this case. It is to reserve court time for more important litigation, and to provide something of value to our community, not to benefit one side or the other except to cease hostilities.”