Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and his agent filed paperwork on Sunday, Sept. 14 moving to dismiss a lawsuit in which they were accused of wrecking a $240 million housing development on Hawaii’s Hapuna Coast.
The original lawsuit was filed last month, in which Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, were accused ‘tortious interference and unjust enrichment,’ who used their ‘celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs’ role in the project’ and attempted to sabotage a second business venture, by developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr., real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners.
In an order to dismiss that was filed in the Hawaii Circuit Court and obtained by USA TODAY Sports, Ohtani and Balelo’s attorneys said that in 2023, Hayes and Matsumoto acquired rights for a joint venture, and said they owned a minority percentage in order to use Ohtani’s name, image, and likeness, calling Ohtani a “victim of NIL violations.”
“Unbeknownst to Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo, plaintiffs exploited Ohtani’s name and photograph to drum up traffic to a website that marketed plaintiffs’ own side project development,” the lawyers said in the lawsuit. “They engaged in this self-dealing without authorization, and without paying Ohtani for that use, in a selfish and wrongful effort to take advantage of their proximity to the most famous baseball player in the world.”
Unlike the previous lawsuit, Ohtani is referred to by that name instead of ‘Otani,’ who the plaintiffs said used ‘threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations.’
Ohtani is nearing the end of his second season with the Dodgers, having signed a 10-year, $ 700 million contract, which helped Los Angeles win the World Series last year. He is a five-time All-Star and three-time Most Valuable Player, who is hitting .281 with 49 home runs, 93 RBI, and has scored 135 runs for the NL West leaders.
‘Nez Balelo has always prioritized Shohei Ohtani’s best interests, including protecting his name, image, and likeness from unauthorized use. This frivolous lawsuit is a desperate attempt by plaintiffs to distract from their myriad of failures and blatant misappropriation of Mr. Ohtani’s rights,’ Laura Smolowe, an attorney representing Balelo and Ohtani, said in a statement.