Weirdness

Rich People Blast Gilligan's Island Theme On Loop In Dumb Legal Throwdown

Come on, people.

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Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale.

These are words that tech entrepreneur Mark Towfiq and his wife are tired of hearing, because they allege their neighbor, PIMCO founder Bill Gross, has been blasting that on a loop for the length of a three-hour tour or more to torment them for complaining about Gross’s lawn.

Specifically, Gross installed a Dale Chihuly glass structure in the lawn of his Laguna Beach home. After it received damage — from either a rock or an errant palm frond — he put up netting that obscured Towfiq’s view. On the one hand, you feel for Gross for wanting to protect his expensive art installation. On the other hand, this is why you don’t put fragile glass art projects outside, dumbass.

From the LA Times:

Towfiq and his wife, Carol Nakahara, in their lawsuit say the netting was at first removed intermittently but later remained up, with Gross and Schwartz avoiding attempts to resolve the problem. That prompted Towfiq to call the city, which inspected the property and sent Gross a letter July 28 informing him that the netting, lighting and sculpture lacked the proper permits.

The quarrel has escalated since then.

Of course it has.

The neighbor’s lawsuit accuses the billionaire and his partner of playing blaring music at all hours, including the “Gilligan’s Island” theme song, rap and pop, in an effort to force him to drop the complaint. The couple say they have had to take refuge twice with either relatives or in a hotel room. In an application for a temporary restraining order filed Oct. 15, which was granted, Towfiq cites a text message allegedly sent to him by Gross after he asked the music to be turned down: “Peace on all fronts or well [sic] just have nightly concerts big boy.”

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Gilligan is a clutch choice for musical torture. It’s not immediately grating, but it’s just enough to get truly annoying after several hours as anyone who’s read the entirety of The Rime of The Ancient Mariner in one sitting can tell you. And, yes, it’s the same meter and now you’ll never hear either the same way again.

Meanwhile, Gross and his partner actually filed their lawsuit first, accusing Towfiq and his wife of spying on them. Towfiq says he was just getting recordings of the blaring music.

As Americans increasingly find access to the justice system beyond their reach while facing harassment, mistreatment, and financial ruin, these people are busy clogging up the courts with this. We are a fundamentally broken society. This is why we should’ve just left the Howells on the island.

Investor Bill Gross accused of blaring ‘Gilligan’s Island’ song on loop to torment neighbor [LA Times]

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HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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