Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford continues to be embroiled in legal disputes stemming from a host of allegations made against him over the past few months. Wade Callender, Gearbox's former legal counsel, filed a motion on Tuesday in Dallas County (Texas) district court for contempt and requested sanctions against Gearbox, alleging "discovery abuse" and failure to produce certain court-ordered documents.
This is the latest filing in a lengthy legal battle between Pitchford and Callender. It started with a
filing by Gearbox in November 2018, alleging that Callender "exploit[ed] Gearbox's generosity and trust for his own personal gain." Callender
responded with a countersuit a month later, accusing the Gearbox CEO of harassing the company's former general counsel because of his Christian faith. The suit also accused Pitchford of taking a "secret" $12 million bonus as an advance on royalties, and of syphoning profits from Gearbox to fund "Peacock Parties" where adult male guests "reportedly exposed themselves to minors, to the amusement of Randy Pitchford."
There was also the USB drive Pitchford left in a Texas restaurant allegedly containing sensitive corporate information from the studio and its business partners--such as 2K Games, Take-Two Interactive, Sega, Sony, and Microsoft--as well as "underage pornography." Ten days after the filing, Gearbox sued Callender for fraud and breach of fiduciary duty.