The Brief
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A Hawaii real estate investor and broker are suing Shohei Ohtani and his agent, alleging they were forced out of a $240 million luxury development deal.
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The lawsuit claims Ohtani and his agent, Nez Balelo, exploited their celebrity status to demand concessions and ultimately dismantle the plaintiffs’ role in the project.
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The plaintiffs were the developers who brought Ohtani in as a celebrity endorser and now stand to lose millions in commissions and fees.
LOS ANGELES – A Hawaii real estate investor and a broker are suing Los Angeles Dodgersstar Shohei Ohtani and his agent, alleging they were unjustly removed from a $240 million housing development after bringing Ohtani on to endorse it.
What we know
The lawsuit was filed by developer Kevin J. Hayes sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto.
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They claim that Ohtani’s agent, Nez Balelo, began demanding concessions from their business partner, Kingsbarn Realty Capital, and eventually demanded they be dropped from the deal.
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Hayes and Matsumoto were to be part of the management team for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort, a luxury housing development.
Matsumoto was set to be the listing agent for the homes, which average $17.3 million.
A spokesman for Balelo’s agency, CAA Baseball, has declined to comment.
What they’re saying
The lawsuit claims that Balelo and Ohtani “exploited their celebrity leverage to destabilize and ultimately dismantle Plaintiffs’ role in the project — for no reason other than their own financial self-interest.”
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It also states, “This case is about abuse of power. Defendants used threats and baseless legal claims to force a business partner to betray its contractual obligations and strip Plaintiffs of the very project they conceived and built.”
According to the suit, Balelo “quickly became a disruptive force,” threatening to pull Ohtani from the deal if concessions weren’t made.
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The lawsuit further alleges that Kingsbarn fired the plaintiffs in a “coordinated ambush” and “openly admitted during the call that Balelo had demanded the terminations and that they were being done solely to placate him.”
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Hayes and Matsumoto claim they “stand to lose millions of dollars in compensation tied to projected homebuilding profit, construction management fees, and broker commissions.”
The backstory
Hayes and Matsumoto worked on the deal for 11 years before signing an endorsement deal with Ohtani in 2023. Ohtani, called “Japan’s Babe Ruth,” was brought in to act as a celebrity spokesperson and was committed to purchasing one of the 14 residences.
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According to investment materials, Ohtani was expected to help “elevate the demand and create buzz within the Japanese luxury vacation home market.”
The Source
This article is based on a lawsuit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court by a real estate investor and broker against Shohei Ohtani and his agent. The claims and direct quotes are taken directly from the legal documents of that lawsuit. The Associated Press contributed.