Lloyd's and Kanye West make settlement in $10 million lawsuit

It was the celebrity versus insurer case that grabbed headlines around the world

Lloyd's and Kanye West make settlement in $10 million lawsuit

Insurance News

By Terry Gangcuangco

It’s now water under the bridge for insurer Lloyd’s of London and rapper Kanye West.

Remember that US$10 million lawsuit filed by West’s touring company after it became apparent that Lloyd’s wasn’t going to compensate following the cancellation of the rapper’s Saint Pablo tour in 2016? Well, that case has now been dismissed by Los Angeles federal court Judge Charles Eick after the parties “amicably resolved” the matter.

A Press Association report published by the Irish Independent said representatives from the opposing sides requested the case’s dismissal, with lawyers Howard King (West’s) and Paul Schrieffer (insurer’s) not commenting further or offering details of the settlement. The judge ordered both camps to pay their own costs and fees.

Over 20 dates of the tour were cancelled due to West’s mental breakdown that saw him being treated at a neuropsychiatric centre. The conflict stemmed from policy exclusions and whether the insured was fit to perform contracted duties, with the issue of marijuana use also making the news.          

“Underwriters’ investigation indicates substantial irregularities in Mr. West’s medical history,” read the court documents subsequently filed by Lloyd’s syndicates in their countersuit last year. “Furthermore the insured’s failure to cooperate in underwriters’ investigation is contrary to the duties of cooperation VGT (Very Good Touring) agreed to as a condition precedent to any obligation of underwriters to pay any claim arising under the policies.”

The coverage reportedly would have compensated West for both the money he would have made and any money he was obliged to pay others in the wake of cutting the tour short.

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