Kanye West’s $10m lawsuit against Lloyd’s is thrown out

Kanye West and Lloyd’s of London have resolved a US$10m lawsuit over cancelled tour dates.

Reports suggest that the lawsuit has been settled “amicably”.

The dispute began when the rapper and husband of reality TV star Kim Kardashian suffered a breakdown and was hospitalised, leading to the cancellation of his remaining 21 tour dates.

West and his touring company Very Good Touring were initially expecting a $27.3m pay out from his insurer.

However, speculation grew that the self-proclaimed “greatest living rock star on the planet” had faked the insurance claim, leading fellow rapper 50 Cent to step in and defend West.

According to court documents, Lloyd’s allegedly stalled on the payment, after failing to provide a “coherent explanation” and “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.”

West and his touring company brought a lawsuit against Lloyd’s and warned other artists not to trust the London market.

The suit alleged: “Lloyd’s companies enjoy collecting bounteous premiums; they don’t enjoy paying claims, no matter how legitimate. 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.”

It continued: “The artists think they’re buying peace of mind. The insurers know they’re just selling a ticket to the courthouse.”

In response, Lloyd’s accused West’s touring company of trying to “thwart” investigations, and claimed they had identified “substantial irregularities” in West’s medical history. They denied that West’s use of marijuana was the only reason they had denied the claim.

However, the judge presiding over the case in California has now thrown the $10m suit out, with reports suggesting that both sides wanted to end the matter after it was “amicably resolved”.