Pacific Investment Management Co. failed to win a quick end to Bill Gross's lawsuit claiming he's owed hundreds of millions of dollars after being forced out of the firm he co-founded 45 years ago.
PIMCO agreed not to fight a California state judge's tentative ruling that Gross had met minimum requirements to go forward with his wrongful-termination action against the bond fund.
"PIMCO is confident that it will prevail when the parties present their evidence to the court," the company's lead counsel, David Boies, of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, said in a statement.
The fund argued that the case should be thrown out because Gross failed to show he had any agreement with the firm guaranteeing his employment. The company also said in a court filing that its profit-sharing plan clearly provides no basis for him to allege he was improperly deprived of bonuses for two quarters.
Superior Court Judge Martha Gooding in Santa Ana disagreed in her tentative decision, issued before a hearing that was scheduled for Monday.
"Gross alleges sufficient facts based on allegations concerning his status as the founder, a 40-year history, an alleged track record of bringing success and/or fame to the enterprise, as well as a series of alleged oral promises/assurances of continued employment,"
