Insurer of American rapper, Kanye West has declined to pay him a sum of $10 million over issues relating with Marijuana intake.
Kanye West
Kanye West's tour insurer Lloyd's of London claims marijuana may have caused his mental breakdown late last year.
The rapper is suing the insurance company, claiming it is refusing to pay him after he was forced to cancel shows in November last year.
According to legal documents Lloyd's suggest marijuana may have led to Kanye's mental health issues in a bid to invalidate the performer's insurance claim, according to The Sun.
The 40-year-old is asking for $10million in damages, claiming the company has yet to pay him out for his cancelled shows.
Furthermore, he claims it has shown no signs it intends to pay him, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Gold Digger rapper first filed a loss claim with the company just days after famously suffering a mental breakdown in November, which saw him cancelling 21 dates for his shows.
Kanye checked into a psychiatric hospital as a result of the breakdown, but more than eight months later, he's claiming both he and his company, Very Good Touring, Inc., still haven't been paid.
His company said in a legal document filed on Tuesday that insurers have yet to pay and is 'implying that Kanye's use of marijuana may provide them with the basis to deny the claim'.
Almost immediately after being hospitalized, Kanye's physician provided the insurance company with sworn testimony he was unfit to take to the stage.
According to the complaint, the insurance company then sought to amend the terms of its coverage in an effort to avoid paying him out.
'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,' the suit states.
Following his breakdown, Kanye also submitted to an independent medical examination (IME) with a doctor selected by the insurance company, who also deemed him unfit to perform.
He also presented for an examination under oath (EUO), along with at least 11 members of his team. The lawsuit also accuses the insurance company of leaking damaging information about the star to media outlets, all in a bid to avoid paying out his insurance.
Among the information he claims is being leaked includes his alleged drug use, which Kanye and his team have branded 'irrelevant facts'.
Kanye's lawyers have come out swinging, saying this should serve as a warning to any other musician considering hiring Lloyd's of London.
'Performing artists who pay handsomely to insurance companies within the Lloyd's of London marketplace to obtain show tour 'non-appearance or cancellation' insurance should take note of the lesson to be learned from this lawsuit: Lloyd's companies enjoy collecting bounteous premiums; they don't enjoy paying claims, no matter how legitimate,' lawyer Howard King writes in the suit.
'Their business model thrives on conducting unending 'investigations', of bona fide coverage requests, stalling interminably, running up their insured's costs, and avoiding coverage decisions based on flimsy excuses.'
'The artists think they're buying peace of mind. The insurers know they're just selling a ticket to the courthouse.'
