Kazuo Okada, founder of Universal Entertainment Corp., speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 14, 2018. Okada, who also co-founded Wynn Resorts Ltd., was formerly chairman at Universal Entertainment. Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

A Japanese gaming industry billionaire who owes $54 million to Bartlit Beck has brought in new lawyers from Dentons to argue that an arbitration panel violated his due process rights when it ruled he has to pay up.

In a March 19 filing in Chicago federal court, Kazuo Okada said his doctor told him not to travel to the United States for the arbitration hearing, which was set for late October and early November. The hearing was centered around Okada's refusal to pay Bartlit Beck a $50 million contingency fee after the firm represented him in a legal dispute with Wynn Resorts that eventually resulted in a $2.6 billion settlement.

Okada's doctor said he was at risk of having a heart attack and rupturing an aneurysm on his heart. But neither Bartlit Beck nor the arbitration panel believed him, with the panel warning that failing to appear at the hearing could result in a default award.

Now represented by lawyers from Dentons US and Dentons Bingham Greenebaum, Okada argued that his due process rights were violated because the panel refused to postpone the October hearing, or accept any written evidence from Okada after that.

"The panel's refusal to postpone the hearing or accept any evidence from Okada was fundamentally unfair and constituted misconduct necessitating the entry of an order denying the petition and vacating the final award," his lawyers argued.

Okada argued that the panel should have accepted written evidence from him or continue the proceedings until he was better. Because he was required to attend, "it was misconduct on the part of the panel to not either postpone the hearing or present Okada with an alternative option for testifying in light of his medical condition," Okada's lawyers argued.

But Bartlit Beck and the arbitration panel saw evidence of bad faith. The panel in its 62-page ruling said Okada gave no prior indication that he wouldn't be able to attend the hearing in person. The panel called Okada's health condition "a transparently false excuse," adding that he never presented a physician's note, something Okada acknowledged in his filing.

Okada also prohibited his lawyer at the time, Raymond Ryan of Stanford, Ryan & Associates, from acting on his behalf during the arbitration hearing. The panel said that "proves he had no intention of participating," and thus held the hearing with evidence only from Bartlit Beck.

Okada's lawyers argued that the panel had given him an ultimatum he was unable to meet: "Though not ideal, it is perhaps unsurprising that Okada then instructed his counsel not to attend the hearing, as the panel had apparently already made up its mind."

Okada's company had a 20% stake in Wynn Resorts and a seat on the board. But in 2012, the board forced him out after an investigation found he had likely violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and forcibly redeemed his shares. Okada fought Wynn Resorts for five years before bringing on Bartlit Beck, which then won a key court victory on his behalf.

The timing was fortuitous—in January 2018, The Wall Street Journal reported on what it called "a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct" by Steve Wynn, the CEO of Wynn Resorts. (Steve Wynn has denied the accusations.) Wynn Resorts and Okada settled their dispute in March 2018 for $2.6 billion.

Okada refused to pay the firm's contingency fee, with his Dentons lawyers describing the fee as being unreasonable and way more than what Bartlit Beck lawyers are typically paid. He also argued that Bartlit Beck's success in the courtroom did not affect the settlement negotiations, which did not involve the Chicago-based litigation firm.

Following the arbitration panel's decision, Bartlit Beck—represented by its own attorneys—filed a motion to enforce the decision in Chicago federal court at the end of December. In a statement, Bartlit Beck partner Chris Lind said the amount of money the firm is seeking from Okada is a small amount compared to what he won.

"The client came to us in a difficult situation. A successful result was not only far from guaranteed, but doubtful. We delivered exactly what he asked for," Lind said. "With those facts, the arbitration panel—including Mr. Okada's hand-picked arbitrator—unanimously agreed that he should pay the contingency fee he agreed to, which was less than 6% of the nearly $1 billion his family-owned company recovered."

A spokesperson for Dentons did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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