Bill Gross is suing PIMCO and its parent company Allianz for
at least $200 million for forcefully driving him out in September 2014.
A complaint filed on Thursday in the California Superior Court in Orange County accused PIMCO of constructive termination, breach of contract, and breach of good faith.
The lawsuit claimed a “cabal” of PIMCO managing directors schemed to push Gross out of the firm he founded, “in order to take, without compensation, [his] percentage ownership in the profitability of PIMCO.”
It added these executives were “driven by lust for power, greed, and a desire to improve their own financial position and reputation at the expense of investors and decency.”
By forcing Gross out of PIMCO, younger executives split his share of the bonus pool, the complaint said.
“Their improper, dishonest, and unethical behavior must now be exposed,” it said.
The former bond king quit the firm last September to join Colorado-based investment house Janus Capital.
Related: Fade to Black & Bill Gross Quits PIMCO to Join Janus