Gearbox CEO and former lawyer end messy legal battle

Gearbox, its CEO Randy Pitchford and the Borderlands studio’s former lawyer Wade Callender have ended a messy legal dispute.

The legal battle began in November 2018 when Gearbox filed a lawsuit against Callender accusing him of misusing company funds for personal expenses.

Callender had served as Gearbox’s general counsel and vice president of legal affairs between 2010 and August 2018. He and Pitchford were friends for over 40 years prior to the dispute.

Gearbox’s former lawyer filed a countersuit in January 2019 accusing Pitchford of mismanagement of funds and lewd behaviour. It claimed Pitchford pocketed an improper $12 million bonus from publisher Take-Two which was intended to fund development of 2012 release Borderlands 2.

It also claimed Pitchford left a USB drive containing confidential corporate documents and child pornography at a restaurant and held parties at his home where men exposed themselves to minors.

The lawsuits were dismissed without prejudice – meaning they can’t be brought back to court later – by a Dallas County court on Wednesday October 2, Business Insider reports.

The parties said in a joint statement: “Upon review of all the evidence in the case, it was of the opinion of counsel that the evidence exonerated Randy Pitchford from the allegations against him; all misunderstandings between the parties have been corrected, and apologies were exchanged. Because the parties are mutually bound by confidentiality, no additional statements will be forthcoming.”

Borderlands 3 released in September 2019 for Xbox One, PS4 and PC. It shipped over five million copies within five days of its release to become the fastest-selling game in publisher 2K’s history.