Kanye West files $10 million lawsuit against insurance nompanies after canceling tour

US rapper, Kanye West was forced to cancel his shows following a mental breakdown last year which saw him admitted to a psychiatric facility for treatment.

21 dates were cancelled in total after his admittance to the mental health facility in LA, and Kanye and his touring company Very Good Touring claim the insurance company had still not paid out for the loss of earnings, also claiming the insurer is actively trying to find ways of avoiding a pay out.

Very Good Touring said in a legal document filed on Tuesday August 1 that the London-based insurers has implied it can refuse to pay out by claiming his marijuana use is responsible for his medical condition.

The artist spent ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ on insurance with Lloyd’s to cover the costs of a cancellation but is yet to receive a payment, according to the document lodged in a Californian federal court. ‘Nor have they provided anything approaching a coherent explanation about why they have not paid, or any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with the basis to deny the claim,’ lawyer Howard King wrote.

Mr King, representing Kanye’s firm, dismissed the allegation that cannabis use led to his ‘serious, debilitating medical condition’ as an ‘unsupportable contention’.

The document details that West was playing in Sacramento, California, on November 19when his ‘strained, confused and erratic’ behaviour caused him to stop the show.

He then spent eight days in a neuropsychiatric centre at UCLA during which it was decided he could not go on with the tour, it adds.

Kanye’s lawyer also claims damaging information was leaked to the press.

The lawyer also took aim at Lloyd’s business model, claiming it accepts ‘bounteous’ premiums and then runs ‘unending’ investigations to avoid making pay-out decisions.

The artists think they’re buying peace of mind. The insurers know they’re just selling a ticket to the courthouse, he wrote.

Very Good Touring is suing for more than 9,861,000 dollars (£7,464,000) in damages and is demanding interest be paid over the alleged breach of contract.
 
Source: Metro