In the beginning of August, Kanye filed suit against his insurer, Lloyd’s of London, for 10 million dollars relating to his cancelled Saint Pablo dates. According to his primary physician, Kanye’s shows were cancelled due to “a debilitating medical condition that required he not tour.” Yet, Lloyd’s stalled for 8 months on payment. West’s legal team believed Lloyd’s has not “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.”
Well, today Lloyds has chipped in, and argues that exclusion clauses existed in West’s policy relating to not only drug and alcohol consumption, but pre-exsiting psychological issues. The insurer would not disclose details of West’s medical history, but said that “substantial irregularities” exist. West claims that Lloyd’s has leaked information to the media before, in an attempt to hurt him.
West’s lawyer anticipated that they would try to use “irrelevant” drug history to smear Kanye and not pay the claim. “… 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.” Howard King continued to say that Lloyd’s argument is “the same generic response Lloyd’s files when they don’t want to honor a legitimate claim but can’t find a factual basis to deny the claim.”
The 38-page countersuit was filed today to a Los Angeles judge. Lloyd’s lawyers in this case are the same ones who worked a similar case involving Foo Fighters concert cancellations. In that instance, the cancellations were due to terror attacks and Dave Grohl breaking his leg. Despite the different circumstances, Lloyd’s behavior was incredibly similar. The case settled for an undisclosed amount, so it is possible this case will end similarly. No matter the result, it seems that Kanye won’t be able to retreat to Wyoming for a while.