Law firm drops Kazuo Okada in Wynn Resorts legal battle

LAS VEGAS -- One of the law firms representing Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada in two legal disputes against former business partner Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts, Limited has withdrawn from both cases, the firm said in court filings late Thursday.

Davis, Polk, Wardwell LLP said it had stopped representing Okada in his effort to reverse Wynn Resorts' decision to redeem his $2.7 billion investment in the Las Vegas-based company at a discount, for a $1.9 billion note maturing in 2022.

The law firm also stopped representing Okada in his efforts to gain access to Wynn Resorts books and records as well as information related to a company pledge to donate $1.35 million to the University of Macau.

Paul Spagnoletti, an attorney with the New York offices of Davis, Polk, Wardwell, was unavailable for comment Friday. The court papers filed in Clark County District Court did not cite a reason for the sudden withdrawal.

Okada also was not available. He still is represented by the firms of Lionel Sawyer & Collins in Las Vegas, and Los Angeles-based Paul Hastings LLP.