In The Westing Game, why did James Hoo dislike Sam Westing?
Mr. Hoo did not like Mr. Westing because he felt that Westing had stolen his idea.
Everyone at Sunset Towers was specifically chosen to be there, and even the businesses were designed for the hand-picked tenants. This is why the building had a space for a Chinese restaurant, for example. That was for Mr. Hoo.
Sam Westing was a very rich man. He had a paper products factory. He has been missing for years, and even presumed dead. When his heirs are gathered at Sunset Towers, at first no one knows what is going on. Even though they all move in, they do not necessarily all have positive opinions of Westing.
Sam Hoo in particular blames Westing for stealing an important idea from him.
“James Hoo. He claimed Westing stole his idea of the disposable paper diaper.” (Ch. 9)
This is the reason that James Hoo filed a lawsuit against...
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Sam Westing. Sandy shares his notes about the heirs, including this entry about James Hoo.
Hoo sued Sam Westing over the invention of the disposable paper diaper. Case never came to court (Westing disappeared). Settled with the company last year for $25,000. Thinks he was cheated. Latest invention: paper innersoles. (Ch. 17)
Mr. Hoo ends up running a Chinese restaurant with his wife, since he did not make his fortune on the paper diaper. Otis Amber considers Hoo an “angry man” and a “madman” and suspects him when things go wrong, such as bombs going off (Ch. 16).
In the end, Mr. Hoo was not the bomber. He does invent paper insoles and makes his fortune from that. Sandy takes the credit for the paper insoles, but ultimately he seems to have been helping Mr. Hoo out since he supposedly stole the diaper idea. You see, Sandy turned out to be Mr. Westing. It all worked out in the end.
What evidence does Judge Ford find that suggests James Hoo disliked Sam Westing in "The Westing Game"?
Judge Ford uncovers information indicating that "James Hoo...claimed Westing stole his idea of the disposable paper diaper". She gets this information from Theo, who, while snowbound, manages to find several items pertinent to the mystery in the files. Theo mentions to Judge Ford that he has discovered "several clipping on a lawsuit brought against Sam Westing by an inventor named...James Hoo" (Chapter 11).
To more than one potential heir, James Hoo is a potentially likely suspect to be the murderer. In addition to the lawsuit, Hoo is bitter, grumbling, and irritable. Otis Amber thinks of him as "Hoo, the inventor; Hoo, the angry man, the madman" (Chapter 16).