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Kanye West’s Saint Pablo Tour had 21 dates left in November 2016 when the rapper cancelled the tour after reportedly having a mental breakdown in 2016. In an attempt to recoup $10 million worth of coverage for the shows, West’s company Very Good Touring filed suit against Lloyd’s of London in August 2017 in a federal court in Los Angeles, alleging that the specialist insurance agency breached the parties’ contract and seeking punitive damages and attorney fees beyond the $9.8 million in concert losses. The insurance company hit back, accusing the rapper using drugs in violation of the policy.
Very Good Touring asserted in its complaint that it obtained insurance against “accidental bodily injury or illness” for West’s entire tour, and that his hospitalization at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Hospital Center in November 2016 qualifies. The tour company alleged that West submitted to an independent medical exam and that he and 11 of his associates had given statements under oath to insurance investigators.
The complaint further states that Lloyd’s denied coverage for the canceled shows, pointing to insurance policy exclusions pertaining to a preexisting psychological condition, possession of illegal drugs, prescription drugs not taken as medically prescribed and the consumption of alcohol rendering the insured unfit to perform.
Still yet, West’s suit suggested that the insurance company “purposely and maliciously” disseminated “privileged, private and personal information” about West to the press in order to undercut his claim for the $10 million.
Despite the strongly-worded claims from West’s camp – and from Lloyd’s, which filed claims of its own, alleging that the star’s reasons for the cancellation were “not beyond [his] control” – the parties have managed to settle the matter out of court. The settlement comes long before the scheduled trial, which was to take place beginning on October 30, 2018 and was estimated to last for approximately 8 days. Even prior to trial, however, Lloyd’s would have almost certainly sought to depose West, as one of the “maximum of 15 percipient witness depositions per side,” which would have likely spawned a settlement.
(It is not uncommon for high-profile parties to settle lawsuits if forced to testify under oath. We saw this with West in connection with another lawsuit in the recent past, as well as with First daughter Ivanka Trump not too long ago when she was sued for copying Aquazzura’s trade dress and design patent protected footwear).
The terms of the parties’ settlement agreement are confidential, but according to the Hollywood Reporter, there is, in fact, a financial component in West’s favor.
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