2024-05-12 04:40:30
The million-dollar lawsuit that Metallica filed against an insurer to be compensated for concerts canceled during the pandemic was rejected by a California appeals court, which cited lyrics by pop diva Taylor Swift in its ruling.
The legendary band was seeking more than $3 million from its insurer Lloyd’s of London, which refused to cover losses from six of the shows canceled during the rise of Covid-19 in 2020 due to a clause that excluded cases related to “contagious diseases.” .
The performers of “…And Justice for All” argued that the suspension of their concerts in Argentina, Brazil and Chile – part of their Latin American tour in the first half of 2020 – could have been due to other factors beyond the virus.
But California’s 2nd Appellate District Judge Maria Stratton said in a ruling issued Monday that it was an “absurd” and “unrealistic” assumption that the isolation measures during that year were for anything other than the coronavirus pandemic. coronavirus, which claimed victims throughout the world.
“There is no doubt that in March 2020 South American countries suspended visas and then closed their borders solely due to Covid-19 or fear of it.”
“To paraphrase Taylor Swift,” Stratton said in his particular ruling that cited the lyrics of “All Too Well” by the American singer: “’We were there. We remember it very well.’ “There were no vaccines against Covid-19 in March 2020 or medicines to treat it.”
«The mortality rate of Covid-19 was unknown, but to give just one example of the potential mortality rate, in March 2020, New York City was using excavation trucks as emergency morgues. “People were terrified.”
Brazil announced the first deaths from covid-19 in March 2020, at the same time that Argentina implemented isolation measures and border closures.
The advance of the pandemic led to the suspension of events, trips and countless cancellations that severely affected various sectors.
Metallica’s lawsuit, made up of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, is one of several legal actions by entertainment industry players seeking compensation for losses during this period.
The case had been dismissed by a Los Angeles court in December 2022 with the understanding that the pandemic was what motivated the cancellations.
But the “Sad But True” metalheads appealed.
© Agence France-Presse