Court orders Kazuo Okada to pay US$50m in fees to law firm
The 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals has ordered Okada to pay unpaid attorneys’ fees to Bartlit Beck.
The Philippines.- Kazuo Okada has been ordered by the 7th Circuit US Court of Appeals to pay Bartlit Beck US$50m in unpaid attorneys’ fees. The law firm had represented Okada against Wynn Resorts after the company pushed Okada’s Universal Entertainment Corp to sell back its stake in the company at a discount following an internal anti-corruption investigation.
The case was settled in 2018 but Okada refused to pay Bartlit Beck the agreed US$50m fees. The dispute was first brought before a panel of arbitrators in July 2018. According to the latest ruling, Okada had been involved in the proceedings for more than a year but stopped before the evidentiary hearing.
Okada had argued that the arbitral proceedings advancing without him were “unreasonable” and “unfair”.
Last month, the Philippines Court of Appeals dismissed fraud charges against Okada and his partner Takahiro Usui for misappropriating more than US$3m from Tiger Resort, Leisure and Entertainment Inc.
In 2018, the Philippine Department of Justice had recommended three counts of fraud against Okada after he received US$3.15m in salary and consulting fees “through error or fraud” while serving as CEO of Tiger Resorts, Leisure and entertainment.
