Kanye West seeks $10 million from insurer over canceled tour

The rapper canceled his tour because of a "debilitating medical condition."

ByABC News
August 2, 2017, 10:16 AM

— -- Kanye West's touring company is suing syndicates of insurer Lloyd's of London for about $10 million, claiming breach of contract and breach of good faith, ABC News has confirmed.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in California and has been obtained by ABC News, Very Good Touring claims that after West canceled his 2016 Saint Pablo tour because of "a debilitating medical condition," insurers have not paid out on the multi-million dollar claim.

West's company had an insurance policy that protected it against losses incurred by dates that had to be "canceled, abandoned, postponed, or interrupted" due to "accidental bodily injury or illness," the suit said.

Attorneys for Very Good also claimed that in an effort to halt the impending lawsuit, the insurers and/or their agents "purposely and maliciously caused to be disseminated to news outlets, privileged, private, and personal information regarding Kanye and the dialogue between Very Good and the insurers."

"Planting the confidential information with news outlets represents an egregious violation of written non-disclosure agreements that the defendant insurers and their agents signed, covering such information to which they were made privy," the lawsuit stated.

"The reputation of the market has been built on meeting our obligations quickly and effectively where a claim should be settled," a representative for Lloyd's told ABC News in a statement. "The market will always take steps to find a solution amicable to both clients and insurers where there are disagreements through discussion and mediation. 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.”

Lloyd's has paid out more than $10 billion in claims in the last year, the statement added.

West, 40, performed 36 of 38 shows in the first leg of his Saint Pablo tour last year "without incident" the lawsuit states, but two of the performances were canceled after the rapper's wife, reality star Kim Kardashian West, 36, was robbed at gunpoint in Paris. After he began touring again in November, West famously was unable to complete his show in Sacramento, where, according to the lawsuit, "his behavior was strained, confused and erratic." The next day, his tour was canceled, and West was hospitalized for eight days in Los Angeles, suffering from what the lawsuit describes as a "serious, debilitating medical condition." As a result of the canceled tour, Very Good demanded nearly $10 million from the insurance company.

The suit details a series of examinations conducted by doctors and lawyers for the insurers, all of whom, the suit claims, found West in no condition to tour. The suit also notes that other, unrelated insurance companies have already paid out on claims relating to the tour's cancellation.

"Despite repeated written demands by Very Good to render a coverage decision and to pay the claim, defendants have still failed to accept the claim, reject the claim, or pay any part of the claim. Defendants have, however, suggested that they may deny coverage of the claim on the unsupportable contention that use of marijuana by Kanye caused the medical condition," the lawsuit states. "Defendants have also suggested they would be amenable to compromising the claim, something Very Good refuses to do."

West's company is seeking the money it claims it is owed from the insurance company, punitive and exemplary damages as well as Very Good's attorney's fees and expenses to be paid by the defendants.

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