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- Billionaire investor Bill Gross is back in court this week over a spat with his neighbor.
- The neighbor claims Gross and his wife, Amy, violated a court order regarding playing loud music.
- The conflict stems from a $1 million glass sculpture on Gross's property.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Billionaire bond investor Bill Gross and his wife, Amy, are back in court this week over an ongoing spat with their next-door neighbors.
The legal battle has been raging for months between the Grosses and multimillionaire tech entrepreneur Mark Towfiq and his wife, who live directly next door in Laguna Beach, California. Towfiq now claims that Gross and his wife violated a December 2020 court order that required them to stop playing loud music when they aren't outside and to follow local ordinances, Bloomberg reports.
Amy Gross testified Monday that her neighbors are driving her out of her home and that she has to announce her presence when she goes outside.
"I fear going into my backyard," she testified, according to Bloomberg. "I couldn't have my wedding reception there. I couldn't have my birthday there."
Towfiq's wife, Carol Nakahara, testified that she and her husband feel helpless and that they "thought this was over" last year, Bloomberg reports.
The conflict began last year and stems from a $1 million sculpture
Towfiq accused the legendary bond trader and cofounder of Pimco and his partner, the former professional tennis player Amy Schwartz, of harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Gross and Schwartz - who appears to have taken her husband's last name when they were married last April - had installed a a 22-foot-long sculpture on their property in Laguna Beach, California. The sculpture, created by the artist Dale Chihuly, consists of dozens of blue glass stems that reach nearly 10 feet high. It was installed by Gross as a gift to his partner in 2019 and cost $1 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Amy Gross told the Times last year that the glass pieces "are like my babies" and that she and her mother pray to them.
But after the sculpture sustained thousands of dollars in damage, Gross installed netting to protect it from the elements, which Towfiq and his wife said blocked their view. The couple filed a complaint with the city of Laguna Beach, which led to the city inspecting the property and informing Gross that he lacked the proper permits, the Times reported.
After the complaint was filed with the city, Towfiq and Nakahara claimed that the Grosses blared the "Gilligan's Island" theme song, among other music, at all hours of the day and night, including turning the music on remotely when away from home, in an attempt to get them to drop the issue. (Bill Gross testified in December that the song has special significance for the couple.)
If Gross is found guilty of violating the restraining order, he could be jailed, according to Bloomberg.