Minneapolis Star Tribune- A Hennepin County district judge has ruled that a hedge fund operated by former Vikings co-owner Jim Jundt and his son Marcus must pay the fund’s former star manager nearly$2 million in unpaid bonuses.

Last week, Judge Gary Larson ordered Jundt Associates Inc. to pay Paul Bottum $1.83 million plus interest after concluding that Jim and Marcus Jundt reneged on promises to pay Bottum bonuses related to the hedge’s performance in 2000 and 2003.

The Jundts, who were not defendants in the lawsuit, had denied making those promises. Jim Jundt did not return a phone call seeking comment. Neither Marcus Jundt nor Bill Pentelovitch, who represented Jundt Associates, could be reached for comment.

The case was unusual in that Bottum possessed no written documents to prove his claim. The Jundts have a history of making only oral promises, said Andrew Parker, a partner with Minneapolis-based Parker Rosen who represented Bottum.

Bottum was a top portfolio manager at Southways Partners, a hedge fund founded by Jim Jundt and later run by Marcus Jundt. Bottum says that Jim Jundt promised him a $1 million bonus every time the fund beat the S&P 500, which it did in 2000 and 2003. But the firm only paid Bottum $175,000, the lawsuit said.

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