Vegas judge to allow claims against Wynn board in Okada suit

Kazuo Okada

A Las Vegas judge will now allow claims against certain members of Wynn Resorts Ltd.’s board to go forward in the long legal battle with ousted director and shareholder Kazuo Okada.

The ruling Monday by Nevada District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez reverses an earlier decision that would have prevented claims against the directors based on their 2012 vote to remove Okada from the board and redeem his shares.

Steve Wynn and Okada have been feuding for about six years, since Wynn pushed Okada out of Wynn Resorts, alleging he bribed Philippine gaming officials. The setback comes amid a broader controversy surrounding Wynn, who was the subject of a Wall Street Journal expose on Jan. 26 that detailed various allegations of sexual harassment and coercion against the casino magnate. He has denied any wrongdoing.

The ruling also revives scrutiny of Wynn Resorts’ board, which has been criticized for weak corporate governance and deference to its founder and chairman.

At issue Monday was whether Gonzalez should allow a sealed document, produced late into evidence, that allegedly shows several Wynn Resorts directors intended to oust Okada from the company as far back as November 2011, according to J. Randall Jones, an attorney for Aruze USA Inc. Aruze is the U.S. unit of Tokyo-based Universal Entertainment Corp., where Okada was formerly chairman.

According to Jones, that alleged discussion took place months before an investigation into Okada’s alleged misconduct was concluded. The results of that investigation formed a primary justification for the Wynn board’s decision to remove Okada from the company in early 2012.

Gonzalez said she won’t allow claims to proceed against one Wynn director who had no part in the November 2011 discussion regarding Okada.

Steve Wynn and Okada once called each other best friends, but according to Okada, things have been strained since 2010, when Wynn’s divorce cut his stake in the company in half and made Okada the largest shareholder. That resulted in Wynn ousting Okada as “unsuitable” and Okada in turn questioning the purpose of Wynn’s $135 million donation to the University of Macau Development Fund in 2011.

Bloomberg