Ex-fund manager claims company founder bullied him, called him a 'moron'

Patrick Evershed, a former New Star Asset Management Holdings Inc. fund manager, was bullied by company founder John Duffield and called a “criminal” and a “moron,” Evershed's lawyer said. The hedge fund manager is suing New Star for unfair dismissal at a London employment tribunal. His lawyer, Daphne Romney, said at the first day of trial today that he was subjected to “a very unpleasant environment.” Duffield “called the fund managers morons and criminals,” including Evershed, Romney said. He “asked if they were ashamed of themselves when their funds performed poorly” and was “angry, antagonistic and unpleasant.” Evershed was suspended by the fund's chief executive officer, Howard Covington, in 2008, shortly after writing a letter to New Star's human resources department complaining of Duffield's conduct. In the letter, Evershed said Duffield “has been most vile to most of the fund managers for several years and bullying us.” Evershed later resigned and sued the fund in October 2008. Evershed said he joined New Star in 2002, after being recruited by Duffield, under the agreement that his fund, New Star Select Opportunities Fund, wouldn't exceed investments of 50 million pounds ($80 million). He said the limit was critical to its success, according to an appeals court judgment from last year that permitted him to pursue the claims. New Star was bought by Henderson Group Plc in 2009 for about 107 million pounds in cash and stock after the contraction in the credit markets, hobbled by a loan it took out to fund a shareholder payout. Most U.K. unfair dismissal claims are capped at about 65,000 pounds. The trial is scheduled to last 10 days. A request for comment to New Star's law firm, Olswang LLP, wasn't immediately returned. --Bloomberg News--