The legal saga between Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford and former legal counsel Wade Callender appears to be over.
In a strange turn of events, both sides have dropped the case after issuing an apology. A confidentiality agreement prevents us from learning more about what is surely a settlement between these two parties, but what we do know is that the legal battle is over and it won't be coming back. At least, not from this angle anyway.
"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," read a joint statement from both Pitchford and Callender. "Because the parties are mutually bound by confidentiality, no additional statements will be forthcoming."
It's really unfortunate that this case settled since Randy had quite a bit of dirty laundry that Callender was threatening to air in court. Callender issued his lawsuit last December accusing Pitchford of siphoning company funds intended for Gearbox employees as a bonus. He also said that Pitchford left a USB flash drive at a Midevil Times restaurant which contained not only confidential company documents but also underage pornography.
Pitchford's response was to go on a magic comedy podcast and admit that it was "barely legal pornography," which is a great thing to say when you're defending yourself in court.
Pitchford's lawyers had been delaying discovery for months which would have forced Gearbox to hand over documents that proved Callender's case, but this settlement comes before the scheduled contempt hearing. This likely lead to the settlement as Callender appeared to have the upper hand in the proceedings.
Sadly, we'll never know what deal was struck between these two gentlemen to let bygones be legal bygones. Both sides were on the hook for millions in misappropriated funds, but it seemed that the added accusations of illegal porn were too much for Pitchford to bear.
Since the case will be dismissed with prejudice, neither side can bring the matter before the courts again. This doesn't prevent someone else from suing for any of the many controversies surrounding Pitchford, but for now at least the matter closed.