A dispute between bond king Bill Gross and his neighbor over loud music and a Chihuly sculpture is set to heat up this week.
The neighbors filed dueling complaints against one another last month, when Mark Towfiq, who lives next door to Gross, alleged that the retired bond manager installed a sculpture that obstructed his view — and subsequently played loud music when Towfiq complained about it.
Gross, meanwhile, has accused Towfiq of having a “creepy obsession” with him and filming Gross and his partner, Amy Schwartz.
Now, they’re meeting in court, where an Orange County judge is considering whether to grant each of them a restraining order against the other.
The neighbors have already spent three days at trial, according to Towfiq’s attorney, and are set to appear before the judge again on Wednesday. The trial is expected to continue through next week, said Chase Scolnick, a partner at Keller Anderle, who represents Towfiq.
Witnesses include three police officers, a code enforcement officer, a sound recording expert, the former owner of the Gross home, and Gross’ property manager and real estate agent. Gross, Schwartz, and Towfiq are also testifying, Scolnick said.
A trial on the case itself will follow this restraining order dispute, although no date has been set, according to a spokesperson for Gross’ attorneys.
According to the ex-bond manager’s version of events, the dispute began in 2018, when Gross was looking at purchasing a Laguna Beach home. During that process, Towfiq repeatedly asked Gross’ real estate agent and the home’s former owner whether Gross was the buyer, according to a court document filed by Gross’ attorneys.
At one point, Towfiq allegedly texted the former neighbor: “I hope I get to meet him,” and “My bond manager at PIMCO told me he is quite difficult,” court documents show.
Once Gross and Schwartz moved in, they noticed that Towfiq had security cameras on the outside of his home that they believe were pointed in the direction of their home, according to a November court filing. The couple also alleges that Towfiq seemed to be taking videos of Gross and Schwartz — what the complaint refers to as Towfiq’s “peeping tom behavior.”
According to Towfiq, however, the dispute began the following year in 2019, when Gross and Schwartz installed a glass Chihuly sculpture along the edge of their property, as well as a net to protect it.
Towfiq claims that the couple didn’t get the appropriate licenses necessary from the city to do this and that the net obstructed the view from his home. Towfiq’s complaint said he asked his neighbors — and their building manager — to take the net down, but they did not.
So Towfiq filed a complaint with the city, which in July sent a notice of violation to Gross.
Soon after, Towfiq alleges, the harassment began. Gross and Schwartz allegedly played music like the Gilligan’s Island theme song loudly, and late at night. Towfiq’s complaint said he asked the couple to turn the music down, and that he called the police with a noise complaint on more than one occasion.
In response to one of Towfiq’s texts, Gross allegedly said: “Peace on all fronts or well [sic] just have nightly concerts big boy,” according to the complaint. In Towfiq’s view, this implied that the music was in retaliation to his complaint about the art.
The issue came to a head on August 15, when Towfiq alleges that Gross played the theme song on a loop. Towfiq called the police. After he called, Towfiq claims he saw Gross, who was shirtless, “sneaking in a crouched position” toward Towfiq’s carport, holding an “electronic device.”
He began to record Gross, the complaint showed. Gross’ complaint, meanwhile, accused Towfiq of “leering” at him over the fence. Then the police arrived, breaking up the dispute.
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After some back and forth between their attorneys outside of court, the neighbors filed complaints on October 13 and 14.
“Mr. Towfiq is attempting to rewrite his history of privacy invasion and creepy obsession with Bill Gross to instead falsely characterize himself as living in fear of his retired neighbor,” Gross’ attorney Jill Basinger, a partner with Glaser Weil Fink Howard Avchen & Shapiro, said via email.
Skolnick declined to comment beyond providing details on the case proceedings.
