THE ROLLING STONES are embroiled in a legal feud with insurance underwriters who refused to pay $12.7 million for a tour cancellation following the suicide of Mick Jagger’s girlfriend L’Wren Scott.
The dispute came to light in court documents filed in the western US state of Utah, where the insurers are seeking to speak to Scott’s brother to bolster their case against the rock legends.
Suicide
Scott, a fashion designer and model, hanged herself in her New York apartment in March, leading to a grief-stricken Jagger to call off a tour of Australia and New Zealand — whose rescheduled dates are underway.
A court document, explaining the need to speak to Scott’s brother Randall Bambrough, said that doctors had diagnosed Jagger with “acute traumatic stress disorder” and ordered the Stones frontman “not to perform for at least 30 days.”
The band claimed $12,689,833 under an insurance policy that covered cancellation of a tour due to the “sudden and unforeseen” deaths of the band members’ loved ones, with Scott specifically listed.
Insurance policy
“Underwriters denied coverage under the policy because Ms Scott’s suicide was an intentional act and not a sudden and unforeseen event beyond her control,” a court document said.
The insurance policy excluded coverage for deaths that were traceable to medical conditions for which the individuals had received medical care.
The documents said that the underwriters were seeking information on Scott’s medical history as part of a court case in London.
A subpoena asked Bambrough — who is not accused of wrongdoing — to appear to give testimony at the office of a law firm in Salt Lake City on 8 December.
The Salt Lake Tribune, which first reported the case, said that Bambrough declined comment and said he had not seen the subpoena. He lives in the Utah city of Ogden, close to Salt Lake City where Scott was born.
Rolling Stones fans in Australia suffered a new blow when the band cancelled a show Saturday at Hanging Rock in Victoria state as Jagger struggled with a throat infection.
But the rock superstars, who keep packing in arenas 50 years into their careers, kept an earlier show in Melbourne and are scheduled to play Wednesday in Sydney.
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