Court Petition Filed by Baseball Star Shohei Ohtani Seeks Dismissal of Lawsuit by Developer
In a recent turn of events, a lawsuit has been filed against baseball star Shohei Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, over claims of 'tortious interference' in a $240 million Hawaii development project.
The lawsuit, filed by Hawaii-based real estate developers Kevin Hayes and Tomoko Matsumoto, asserts that Ohtani and Balelo exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle the plaintiffs' role in the project for financial self-interest.
According to the plaintiffs, Ohtani's fame was leveraged to manipulate the real estate project. The plaintiffs also claim that they exploited Ohtani's name and photograph to drum up traffic for their side project development, which was not subject to the terms of the already-agreed-upon contract.
Attorneys for Ohtani and Balelo have since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. The motion objects to Ohtani's inclusion as a defendant, characterizing it as an 'inappropriate and unprofessional attempt to exert maximum leverage.'
Laura Smolowe, an attorney representing Ohtani and Balelo, described the lawsuit as a desperate attempt by the plaintiffs to distract from their myriad of failures and blatant misappropriation of Ohtani's rights. Smolowe further stated that Balelo has always prioritized Ohtani's best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use.
Balelo allegedly demanded concessions throughout the project's duration, up to and including the removal of plaintiffs Hayes and Matsumoto. This self-dealing, the plaintiffs claim, was done without authorization and without paying Ohtani for the use of his name, image, and likeness.
The plaintiffs' actions were a selfish and wrongful effort to take advantage of their proximity to the most famous boy names in the world. Notably, there is no publicly verified information about any person or persons who sold Ohtani's image and name without authorization or payment to promote their own side projects.
The motion to dismiss the lawsuit was filed by Ohtani and his agent, with Smolowe stating that the developers' lawsuit is a poorly-constructed attempt to distract from their own failures and shortcomings. The original lawsuit accuses Balelo of engineering a calculated and unlawful scheme to interfere with the development project.
The lawsuit was initially filed early last month, and the most recent developments come as a response to Balelo's threat to take legal action over the allegedly unauthorized use of Ohtani's likeness, which prompted the plaintiffs to pre-emptively file their own lawsuit. The statement from Smolowe was reprinted, in part, by The Athletic.
As the case unfolds, it remains to be seen how this high-profile legal battle will impact the Hawaii development project and the reputations of those involved.
