Expert Explains Shohei Ohtani's Legal Liability in Hawaii Real Estate Lawsuit

Monday, the Associated Press reported that Shohei Ohtani's agent, Nez Balelo of Creative Artists Agency, was being sued after he allegedly "demanded the terminations" of two people associated with a Hawaii real estate project endorsed by Ohtani.

Before this week, Ohtani's connection to the project had not been in the news since the Wall Street Journal first reported on his intent to build a home there in April 2024.

The Dodgers star signed on to endorse the 14-home luxury development on the big island of Hawaii before he even played his first game in Los Angeles. Ohtani is still listed as the "first resident" of The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort on the project's website.

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Only Balelo, who negotiated Ohtani's 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers, has been accused of interfering with the project. So why is Ohtani named in the lawsuit?

"They’re not alleging that Ohtani did anything, they’re saying his agent did," attorney Arash Sadat of Mills Sadat Dowlat LLP, who reviewed the legal filing, told The Big Lead. "Generally under the law, when somebody’s your agent, you can be held liable for something he did on your behalf. That’s why Ohtani can be held liable. We don’t know Ohtani’s knowledge or the extent of his involvement."

This season, Ohtani has played in all but two of the Dodgers' first 120 games, leading Major League Baseball in plate appearances while also making eight starts as a pitcher — his first games on the mound since suffering a season-ending elbow injury in 2023.

If it seems like a stretch that Ohtani would be intimately involved in the alleged firings of developer Kevin J. Hayes Sr. and real estate broker Tomoko Matsumoto in July, perhaps it is. But that wouldn't necessarily shield Ohtani from legal liability.

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According to the AP, investment materials for The Vista at Mauna Kea Resort listed Hayes and Matsumoto as part of the management team along with Kingsbarn Realty Capital.

“Kingsbarn began capitulating to Balelo’s every whim,” the suit said, according to the AP report. “Over time, it became increasingly obvious that Kingsbarn was more concerned about preserving its relationship with Ohtani than honoring its obligations to its business partners.”

Sadat told The Big Lead that, even if firing a developer and real estate broker did not cause a violation of a contract signed by Ohtani, the lawsuit might have been prompted by "interference with prospective economic advantage" — an expectation that Hayes and Matsumoto would receive payment in the future.

Sadat added it's reasonable to expect Balelo and Ohtani to counter with a motion to dismiss the suit, on the basis that “even if what (they're) claiming is true, (they're) not claiming that anything illegal happened.”

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