"In papers filed on Sunday, lawyers for Ohtani and Balelo said Hayes and Matsumoto in 2023 acquired rights for a joint venture in which they owned a minority percentage to use Ohtani's name, image and likeness under an endorsement agreement to market the venture's real estate development at the Mauna Kea Resort. The lawyers said Ohtani was 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 wrote. 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."
"The lawyers claimed Hayes and Matsumoto sued after Balelo did his job and protected his client by expressing justifiable concern about this misuse and threatening to take legal action against this clear misappropriation. They called Balelo's actions clearly protected speech In a statement issued after the suit was filed last month, Kingsbarn called the allegations completely frivolous and without merit."
Shohei Ohtani and agent Nez Balelo seek dismissal of a suit claiming they caused a Hawaii investor and broker to be removed from a $240 million Hapuna Coast luxury housing development. Plaintiffs Kevin J. Hayes Sr., Tomoko Matsumoto, West Point Investment Corp. and Hapuna Estates Property Owners sued for abuse of power, tortious interference and unjust enrichment after being dropped by joint-venture majority owner Kingsbarn Realty Capital. Lawyers for Ohtani say Hayes and Matsumoto held a minority joint-venture stake and unlawfully used Ohtani's name, image and likeness in 2023 to promote their own side project without authorization or payment. Balelo raised concerns and threatened legal action; Kingsbarn called the claims frivolous. Ohtani is a three-time league MVP and World Series champion.
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