Anais Gutierrez
Kanye West filed a lawsuit against insurance company Lloyd’s of London on Tuesday. The rapper is asking for $9.8 million plus interest to the company. All as compensation for the money he lost after canceling his last tour.
In November 2016, Kanye suffered a mental breakdown and was hospitalized. Previously, he showed some strange behavior during concerts. Finally, he canceled the remaining dates of his Saint Pablo Tour.
Dragging their feet and making excuses
Kanye West is taking legal actions against London based company Lloyd as he has yet to receive a dime for the cancellation of his tour. The company seems to have no intention of doing so.
The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, in California by West’s touring company Very Good Touring. According to the lawsuit, Lloyd failed to pay out a claim for the costs caused by the cancellation.
But Kanye didn’t stop there and is keeping it real.
The lawsuit is scathing of the insurance industry in general. It states that Lloyd’s companies “enjoy collecting bounteous premiums; they don’t enjoy paying claims, no matter how legitimate”.
The suit highlighted:
“Their business model thrives on conducting unending ‘investigations’ of bona fide coverage requests, stalling interminably, running up their insured’s costs, and avoiding coverage decisions based on flimsy excuses.”
“The artists think they’re buying peace of mind. The insurers know they’re just selling a ticket to the courthouse,” it added.
Very Good Touring says in its court filing that it obtained insurance against “accidental bodily injury or illness” for West’s entire tour and that his hospitalization qualifies. According to his physician ruled that he had a mental breakdown which made him unable to perform.
The lawsuit also claims that the insurance company wanted to examine 11 members of his team under oath despite having provided testimonies due to his breakdown.
The company tries to claim marijuana use
But even after asking all that, the company remains silent about why they haven’t paid the price. They are now trying to claim marijuana use against Kanye.
“…implying that Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good,” reads the complaint.
West’s lawsuit does, however, offer some additional details about his psychological breakdown and eight-day stay at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center.
Per the suit, West continues to be treated by the primary physician who oversaw his care at UCLA. That doctor has confirmed in sworn testimony that West “suffered a debilitating medical condition, requiring that Kanye not continue with the tour”
The lawsuit also alleges that Lloyd’s fed confidential information about West to news outlets.
No further comment on the lawsuit
A spokesperson for Lloyd’s of London said the company wouldn’t comment on specifics of active cases. He claimed the company has already paid over £14bn in claims and that the company has made its reputation by meeting its obligations effectively.
Then he added that there’s always the possibility to find an amicable solution for both clients. This could be achieved through discussion and mediation.
And finally added,
“However, where an agreement cannot be reached, valid claims can only be paid on syndicates being satisfied that they have the information required to make any payment.”
The Tour’s insurance policy was written at Lloyd’s of London by a group of syndicates owned by Lancashire Holdings. The syndicates are named by the suit and have all declined to comment.
Mental breakdown
Kanye West drew headlines during his Saint Pablo Tour last year after he voiced support for Donald Trump on stage in San Jose.
Following that, he made a rambling speech castigating Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Mark Zuckerberg and Hilary Clinton in another stage rant.
He also called out radio stations for playing too much Drake and not enough Frank Ocean and added: “The Saint Pablo tour is more relevant than radio and if y’all keep following old models, your ass is going to be Hillary Clinton.”
And left the stage after singing three songs.
The canceling of the tour
Kanye then canceled the final 21 concerts of the tour and refund ticket holders.
Following the erratic onstage behavior, Kanye headlined news again when he was hospitalized following a 911 call, that led to him spending eight days at a psychiatric center in Los Angeles.
At the time of his hospitalization sources claim West hadn’t slept in about a week and was exhausted. On top of that, sources claim that the news of Kim being tied up by robbers in Paris hit pretty hard the rapper.
Reportedly, the singer was haunted by the experience and buried himself in work.
West also worked on designs for his Yeezus fashion line and for Adidas.
After Kim’s robbery and Kanye’s breakdown, the couple kept it low and was basically restrained from social media and the spotlight.
Kanye just said if he had voted (which he didn't) he would've voted Trump. pic.twitter.com/g2HyFz6KPD
— Justin Yang (@justin_yang) November 18, 2016
Source: X17
