Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford\u00a0is being accused by\u00a0former general counsel of the studio\u00a0of receiving\u00a0a secret $12 million bonus from publisher Take-Two Interactive.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This legal dispute comes shortly after\u00a0Gearbox sued its former counsel, Wade Callender, back in December 2018 for “fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.”<\/p>\n
Callender\u00a0filed his suit against the studio in response, and\u00a0both men seem to be suing each other over allegedly violating their legal duties to the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As reported by Kotaku<\/a>, Pitchford\u00a0allegedly received the $12 million in secret as an advance against\u00a0Borderlands<\/em>\u00a0profits, which Gearbox has claimed is “absurd.”\u00a0<\/p>\n According to the lawsuit filed by Gearbox, the studio\u00a0alleged that Callender, who worked at the company from 2010 until 2018,\u00a0borrowed money\u00a0for a home loan and tuition, neither of which were paid back in full. The studio also claims Callender destroyed evidence of the home loan agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition, Callender reportedly “abused the privilege of credit card access by charging unapproved, wholly personal expenses, including family vacations, gun club memberships and firearms accessories.”<\/p>\n In December\u00a02018, Callender\u00a0sued Gearbox and Randy Pitchford, accusing Pitchford “of violating various contracts involving both Gearbox and a separate real estate company that they both owned, as well as Callender\u2019s own employment contract.”<\/p>\n The lawsuit against Gearbox alleges that Pitchford\u00a0struck a deal in 2016 to receive a “personal, secretive \u2018Executive Bonus\u2019 of $12,000,000 to be paid directly to Pitchford entity called \u2018Pitchford Entertainment Media Magic, LLC.'”<\/p>\n Callender\u00a0and his lawyers argue that the bonus\u00a0was an advance upon royalties that would otherwise go to Gearbox\u2019s staff.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is particularly tragic exploitation,\u201d the lawsuit states, \u201cbecause these millions are being syphoned to Randy Pitchford\u2019s personal accounts instead of funding the development of\u00a0Borderlands<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe allegations made by a disgruntled former employee are absurd, with no basis in reality or law,\u201d a Gearbox spokesperson said to\u00a0Kotaku<\/a>. \u201cWe look forward to addressing this meritless lawsuit in court and have no further comment at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n