Billionaire Bill Gross proposed to settle his feud with his southern California neighbor and end dueling harassment complaints, saying there are more important things to focus on — like the pandemic — than their dispute.
Gross issued a public statement Monday offering to “end all hostilities,” with his Laguna Beach neighbor Mark Towfiq and said the two men should calculate how much money they’ve spent in lawyers’ fees and donate the proceeds to local food banks and other charities.
For months the two men have been locked in a feud with Gross claiming that Towfiq has engaged in “peeping Tom” behavior by photographing and recording him and his girlfriend Amy Schwartz. Meanwhile, Towfiq claims Gross has forced him to endure sonic torture by endlessly playing the theme songs to TV sitcoms like “Gilligan’s Island”, rap and Mariachi music. Judge Kimberly Knill in Orange County Superior Court, has been holding hearings in the competing disputes since last month and says she will render a decision on their dueling harassment claims.
“I don’t think many people would contend this litigation deserves the attention it has received during the deadliest pandemic in a century,” Gross said in the statement. “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.”
Knill had scheduled her hearings to resume on Monday afternoon. Jay Barron, a lawyer for Towfiq, didn’t immediately return an email seeking comment on Gross’s offer.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.