Billionaire Bill Gross was found in contempt of court on Friday and ordered to complete two days of community service – instead of spending five days in jail – for “flagrantly” violating a restraining order in the midst of his much-litigated, high-decibel feud with his oceanfront, Laguna Beach neighbor.
The same Orange County Superior Court judge who last year found that Gross had targeted his tech-entrepreneur neighbor with loud loops of music, most notably the “Gilligan’s Island theme song,” once again ruled against the bond industry legend. Judge Kimbery Knill said Gross and his wife, former tennis pro Amy Gross, refuse to accept responsibility for their conduct.
“Clearly there is bad blood between the neighbors,” Judge Knill said when announcing her ruling Friday in a Santa Ana courtroom. “As events have shown, we are not out of the woods yet.”
Bill and Amy Gross were each sentenced to five days in jail and ordered to pay $1,000 fines. But due to COVID-19 conditions behind bars, the judge opted to turn two of those days into community service, and will stay the remaining three days as long as the couple doesn’t violate the court order again in the next year.
Billionaire investor Bill Gross, and his wife, Amy Gross, in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA, on Friday, October 1, 2021. The court found that Gross violated a court-issued restraining order by disturbing the peace while playing loud music on his property. Gross and his wife, Amy Gross, have been in an ongoing dispute with his Laguna Beach neighbors, Mark Towfiq and Carol Nakahara. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Billionaire investor Bill Gross, and his wife, Amy Gross, talk with their attorney in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA, on Friday, October 1, 2021. The court found that Gross violated a court-issued restraining order by disturbing the peace while playing loud music on his property. Gross and his wife, Amy Gross, have been in an ongoing dispute with his Laguna Beach neighbors, Mark Towfiq and Carol Nakahara. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Billionaire investor Bill Gross in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA, on Friday, October 1, 2021. The court found that Gross violated a court-issued restraining order by disturbing the peace while playing loud music on his property. Gross and his wife, Amy Gross, have been in an ongoing dispute with his Laguna Beach neighbors, Mark Towfiq and Carol Nakahara. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mark Towfiq holds his wife Carol Nakahara, hold hands as they sit in Orange County Superior Court with billionaire investor Bill Gross, and his wife, Amy Gross, in Santa Ana, CA, on Friday, October 1, 2021. The court found that Gross violated a court-issued restraining order by disturbing the peace while playing loud music on his property. Gross and his wife, Amy Gross, have been in an ongoing dispute with his Laguna Beach neighbors, Mark Towfiq and Carol Nakahara. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Gross, in a statement released minutes after the hearing, blasted the ruling as a “travesty of justice and a black mark on the Orange County judicial system.”
“The judge in the case was the judge in a prior trial earlier in the year, after which I wrote in one of my public Outlooks that she resembled the hanging judge at the Laguna Beach shore and that she was using the case to advance her promotion to a higher court,” Gross wrote. “We thought she could overcome her bias as a result of this criticism, but obviously she could not.”
An attorney representing Gross’ neighbors said his reaction to the ruling proved Gross “still hasn’t learned his lesson. …
“He responded to his conviction not by accepting responsibility but by attacking and vilifying the trial judge, who is widely regarded as an excellent and fair jurist,” Attorney Chase Scolnick said in a statement. “Hopefully, the court’s ruling of a five-day jail sentence causes the Grosses to finally realize their billions do not mean they are above the law.”
At the request of Gross’ attorneys, the judge agreed to stay the sentence for 30 days to provide them an opportunity to appeal the ruling. Patricia Glaser, of the attorneys representing Gross, told the judge that the ruling was “draconian.”
Gross’ neighbors – tech-entrepreneur Mark Towfiq and his wife, Carol Nakahara – say the feud began after an unpermitted, $1 million sculpture was installed on the Gross property. Gross in turn has accused Towfiq of violating his privacy and improperly recording him on his property.
After days of testimony last year, the judge sided with Towfiq and his wife, issuing a restraining order barring the Gross’ from playing music from speakers outside their home when no one was there, or at all hours of the night. Gross and his wife use the house as a vacation home away from their primary Newport Beach residence.
On July 7, according to video and testimony, Gross and his wife played loud music as they swam in their pool with a friend who had officiated their wedding, leading Towfiq to call police. Body camera footage captured officers commenting on hearing the music over the traffic din of nearby Coast Highway, and unsuccessfully attempting to get Bill or Amy Gross to leave the pool to talk to them.
Days later, Towfiq’s attorneys asked the judge to declare Bill and Amy Gross in violation of the restraining order, kicking off the latest round of hearings.
“They want to be free from harassment but most of all they just want to live in peace and quiet,” Scolnick told the judge last week.
Gross’ attorneys alleged that Towfiq was just mad that they were in the process of getting the lawn sculpture on the Gross property approved by the city.
“When the city was on the precipice of approving the statue, Mr. Towfiq decides he would weaponize the court order,” Glaser told the judge last week.
Judge Knill determined the loud music on July 7 was indeed a violation of the court order. The judge made particular note of what she described as an “appalling” video Amy Gross took of herself in the pool, spinning around and singing in a loud voice, “We are outside, yes we are, yeah, yeah, yeah.”
“The Grosses must be held accountable for the conduct for which they still refuse to accept responsibility,” the judge said.
Along with the suspended jail sentence and community service, the judge also amended the restraining order to bar Gross and his wife from playing any music at any time from the speakers outside of their home.
Glaser asked Knill if it was possible for Bill and Amy Gross to instead serve time under house arrest, adding she didn’t expect that to be at the Laguna Beach residence. The judge denied the request.
In brief comments to reporters outside the courtroom, Bill Gross said, “The only relevant facts in this case is there was no police citation issued” for the noise complaint on July 7.
“It ranks below a speeding ticket,” Gross said.
Scolnick said his clients were pleased at the outcome, and he hoped it would result in the couple being allowed to live in peace.
The type of community service to be assigned will be determined in the future.
redbull on October 2nd, 2021 at 19:32 UTC »
Bill Gross is a vile human being. He's gotten away with his atrocious behavior for so long because of his money.
woah_man on October 2nd, 2021 at 15:17 UTC »
Imagine having over a billion dollars and still being such a petty bitch.
pomonamike on October 2nd, 2021 at 13:51 UTC »