Pimco says Bill Gross leaked bonus data, showed bad faith

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co accused former star bond fund manager Bill Gross of leaking confidential bonus data and exercising "bad faith" in pursuing a $200 million lawsuit over his sudden September 2014 departure from the firm.

In a court filing dated Tuesday, Pimco said Gross admitted to having revealed 2013 compensation data to a Bloomberg News columnist after leaving Pimco, as part of his "sad obsession" with attacking the firm he co-founded and his former colleagues.

Pimco said Gross should be ordered to turn over materials it is entitled to see and be sanctioned for dragging his heels.

It cited, as an example, Gross' alleged failure to turn over emails about his exit from Pimco with the chief executive of his current employer, Janus Capital Group Inc (JNS.N), which Pimco said it uncovered through a subpoena to Janus itself.

Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE (ALVG.DE), said Gross' "egregious misconduct" supports its argument that it would have had "good cause" for terminating his employment.

In his lawsuit filed last October, Gross claimed that Newport Beach, California-based Pimco forced him to resign so it could distribute his bonus to others.

Patricia Glaser, Gross' lawyer, in a statement on Wednesday called Pimco's "off-topic insults and baseless accusations" an attempt to deflect blame from its own misconduct.

"The only party trying play 'hide the ball' is Pimco," she said.

Both sides are expected to appear in the California Superior Court in Santa Ana on Sept. 16.

Pimco said Gross' disclosures to the columnist at Bloomberg, which competes with Reuters News, included data for one-time Chief Executive Mohamed El-Erian, his successor Douglas Hodge, and Daniel Ivascyn, who succeeded Gross as chief investment officer.

It also said Gross admitted to giving compensation details to eight or nine managing directors prior to leaving Pimco.

That revelation included a note to recipients, "let's get our fair share in December," according to a person familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the note.

Gross denied that Pimco had a right to take any adverse action over the disclosures, according to Tuesday's filing.

Gross is worth $2.4 billion according to Forbes magazine, and has pledged to donate proceeds from his lawsuit to charity.

At Pimco, he built the flagship Pimco Total Return fund (PTTRX.O) into the world's largest bond fund. Gross now runs the much smaller Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund (JUCAX.O).

The case is Gross v. Pacific Investment Management Co et al, California Superior Court, Orange County, No. 2015-00813636.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in New York; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama, Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)