Randy Pitchford in bitter legal dispute with former lawyer over alleged $12m bonus

In November, Gearbox filed a suit against its former general counsel Wade Callender, alleging that the lawyer misused company funds and failed to fully pay back personal loans from the studio. A month later, Callender filed a separate suit against CEO Randy Pitchford and Gearbox which makes some extreme allegations. Those include the claim that Pitchford pocketed a secret $12 million bonus as an advance against Borderlands royalties, and even more serious types of misconduct. Details on the legal disputes come via Kotaku, which also reprinted the suits in full. Gearbox tells the site that the allegations from the "former employee are absurd, with no basis in reality or law. We look forward to addressing this meritless lawsuit in court and have no further comment at this time.” Gearbox’s suit says that the company gave Callender a $300,000 cash loan in 2014 in order to purchase a home when he “fell on hard times.” Gearbox says the house is believed to be valued in excess of $900,000. The company claims that this loan was the subject of a written agreement that Callender destroyed, and that he has since failed to pay back that loan in full, contrary to the agreement.

from PCGamesN http://bit.ly/2FvJSCZ