Okada sues Wynn in Japan
After suffering several legal setbacks in Las Vegas, Japanese gaming magnate Kazuo Okada carried his battle with Wynn Resorts Ltd. to his home turf.
On Tuesday, Okada filed a $143 million defamation lawsuit in Tokyo District Court against the company, Chairman and CEO Steve Wynn and the board of directors. In the lawsuit, Okada claims the parties damaged his image, cost him potential new business and caused a drop in the stock of Universal Entertainment Corp., a company he controls.
"The reputation, credibility and property of (the Okada plaintiffs) were immeasurably injured and, as this is a vicious case, (Wynn’s) activities are most reprehensible," reads an unofficial translation of the complaint.
Much of the pleading retraces ground that has been covered numerous times since the boardroom dispute erupted into public view early this year. Wynn Resorts, through court papers and media releases, contends Okada corruptly influenced Philippine government officials while trying to develop a hotel-casino on Manila Bay. Wynn backed this allegation with a report from former FBI director Louis Freeh, whose firm Wynn hired to investigate Okada.
"We have not yet seen any documents relating to a filing by Mr. Okada in Japan," Wynn Resorts said Tuesday in a statement. "However, we assume this is another attempt to distract from the real issues facing Aruze (an Okada-controlled company) and Mr. Okada as identified in the Freeh report."
Okada has denied all the charges and counters that the investigation was stacked against him.
In the aftermath, Wynn forcibly redeemed Okada’s 19.7 percent stake in the company, held in the name of Aruze USA, at a 30 percent discount. Wynn then filed suit in Clark County District Court in February, seeking to affirm the move.
Okada dissented when Wynn Resorts contributed $135 million to the University of Macau in 2011 while it had a casino concession application pending. Between that and the Manila Bay project, which Steve Wynn viewed as a potential competitor to the company’s Macau property, the once-friendly relations between the two business partners crumbled.
Okada was the first to go to court, filing a case in Clark County District Court last year to obtain a long list of internal Wynn documents. So far, he has received almost nothing.
Okada then transferred the February lawsuit by Wynn to U.S. District Court, but a federal judge ordered it returned to state court. Okada must also pay Wynn’s legal bills of nearly $149,000.
In the Tokyo court papers, Okada contended he and his companies were put at a disadvantage by being forced to become "unreasonably involved in the action … in a foreign country."
However, he has agreed to come to Las Vegas on Sept. 18 for a deposition where Wynn attorneys will be allowed to question him about any plans to use the documents he wants against the company – potentially an improper purpose and grounds for denial.
In announcing the Tokyo lawsuit, Universal Entertainment adopted a theme that previously appeared in only one paragraph of a Las Vegas court pleading in February.
"(The) dispute has its roots in the 2010 divorce of Steve and Elaine Wynn, which resulted in Steve Wynn losing ownership of roughly half of his stock in the company, leaving (Okada’s) Aruze USA as the single largest shareholder and posing a threat to Wynn’s total control of the company," the statement said.
In 2009, the Wynns together held a 21.4 percent stake compared with Aruze USA’s 21.8 percent, company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show. One year later, each Wynn held 8.95 percent and Aruze USA had 19.8 percent.
Wynn Resorts maintains the rupture began with Okada’s unwelcome attempt to pull the company into his Manila Bay project.
Contact reporter Tim O’Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.
