Summary: Kanye West and an insurance company have reached a settlement over the missing payment from his canceled tours.
Kanye West has won a settlement in his lawsuit against an insurance company who didn’t want to pay him because they thought he was a drug user. According to The Hollywood Reporter, West had sued Lloyd’s of London for $10 million last August.
In 2016, West canceled his concert tour after he was hospitalized for erratic behavior. His tour was insured by Lloyd’s of London, but the insurance company refused to pay the claim. They said that if West had been on drugs that would void their obligation, but West’s attorneys said that Lloyd’s was just looking for an excuse.
“Almost immediately after the claim was submitted, Defendants selected legal counsel to oversee the adjustment of the claim, instead of the more normal approach of retaining a non-lawyer insurance adjuster,” West’s complaint said. “Immediately turning to legal counsel made it clear that Defendants’ goal was to hunt for any ostensible excuse, no matter how fanciful, to deny coverage or to maneuver themselves into a position of trying to negotiate a discount on the loss payment.”
On Wednesday, Lloyd’s settled their case with West for an undisclosed sum. The two parties filed a joint stipulation to have West’s case dismissed in California federal court.
West filed a lawsuit in August. In his complaint, he said that he had filed an insurance claim two days after he checked himself into a psychiatric center. He had been hospitalized in November 2016 after a series of concerts he gave where he went on bizarre rants about Donald Trump and his friend Jay-Z.
A mental health professional had confirmed that West had a breakdown and needed to be treated, but nonetheless, Lloyd’s refused to pay out the money, suggesting that they needed proof that West had not been using drugs.
Lloyd’s insurance policy refused to pay out for preexisting psychological conditions, use of illegal drugs, use of prescription drugs obtained without a prescription, and overuse of alcohol.
In West’s August lawsuit, he said that he had submitted all required documentation and accused the insurance company of leaking his medical problems to the press. West and his group Very Good Touring had asked for $10 million and a jury trial.
“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 a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good,” the August lawsuit said.