Wynn Resorts Hearing Over Financial Records Continued

(Corrects date of removal in fourth paragraph.)

Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN)’s former Vice Chairman Kazuo Okada must wait until Feb. 23 to find out whether he can access the casino operator’s financial records, a Las Vegas judge ruled, saying she needs more time to go over the document requests in detail.

Nevada state court judge Elizabeth Gonzales said at the conclusion of a hearing today that she wants to look at Okada’s requests to determine which ones are reasonable.

“The company has a right to determine each document individually,” Gonzales said. A director’s right to review company books is “limited under Nevada law,” she said.

Okada, who was removed as vice chairman in October, sued in state court in Clark County, Nevada, to force the company to produce spending records. Okada, who is chairman of Universal Entertainment Corp. (6425), Wynn’s largest shareholder, has $380 million invested in the casino operator dating back to 2000, according to regulatory filings.

Kirk Lenhard, an attorney for Wynn, argued that Okada’s request was premature as such actions should be brought before the board of directors. The board should be allowed to review the request at a meeting next month before the court rules, Lenhard said.

Gidon Caine, an attorney for Okada, said the request was about “good corporate governance.”

“We’re encouraged that the court saw Mr. Okada’s role as a fiduciary as important,” Caine said after the hearing.

The case is Okada v. Wynn Resorts Ltd., A-12-654522-B, District Court, Clark County, Nevada (Las Vegas).

To contact the reporters on this story: Sophia Pearson in Philadelphia at spearson3@bloomberg.net; Valerie Miller in Las Vegas at valeriemusicmagic@yahoo.com.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net