Procedure against Ohtani and agents against housing projects

What a big week this is for baseball superstar Shohei Ohtani. He smashed his name on Monday and Tuesday’s 42nd and 43rd home runs of the season, but his name posted on the newspaper’s front page after revealing that Hawaiian real estate investors and brokers filed lawsuits against him and his agents. They claim the couple was fired from a $240 million luxury housing development that Ohtani was brought into Hapuna Coast.

Litigation against Ohtani and his brokers

According to the Associated Press (AP), the lawsuit was made by Kevin J. who claimed Ohtani and his agent Nez Balelo used their “celebrity leverage to undermine and eventually remove” their role in the project. According to the lawsuit, this was “no other reason than their own financial self-interest.” Hayes and Matsumoto were subsequently withdrawn from the deal by their business partner Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

The two men reportedly reached a deal with Ohtani and Balelo in 2023 to use players as celebrity spokespersons for Hawaii housing projects, aiming to attract luxury real estate buyers. The property costs an average of about $17.3 million each. According to Hayes and Matsumoto, the two have been working on the project since 2013.

Kingsbahn denies allegations

“This situation is about abuse of power,” the lawsuit reads. “The defendants use threats and unfounded legal claims to force business partners to betray their contractual obligations and deprive plaintiffs of the projects they conceived and established.” It added that the defendants “have to be responsible for their own actions, not to be covered up by fame or behind-the-scenes agents.” Kingsbarn called the allegations “totally frivolous and have no merit.” So far, Balelo’s agency declined to comment.

Most of the lawsuits have been edited, so it is not clear whether Ohtani is directly involved in the alleged behavior. However, this is not the first time he has had to deal with off-field legal issues as a Dodger player. In March 2024, he revealed his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara for embezzling $16.59 million from an Ohtani account to repay illegal gambling debts. Earlier this year, Remahara was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

Ohtani ranked No. 1 in NL home run rankings

Last year, this revelation certainly wouldn’t have a negative impact on Ohtani’s game. He was named the National League (NL) MVP and became the first member of the Major League Baseball 50-50 club (50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a season), helping his team secure their second World Series in five years. The form continues until 2025. His 43rd home run this week was his fourth in many games and placed him on the NL rankings. Cal Raleigh is the general leader of the Major League Baseball (MLB), with a total of 45.

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