LOS ANGELES.- The millionaire demand what 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 three million dollars from its insurer Lloyd’s of London, which refused to cover the losses of 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 interpreters of …And Justice for All They 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.
Do it against Metallica
But California’s 2nd Appellate District Judge Maria Stratton said in a ruling issued on March 18 that it was an absurd and unrealistic assumption that the isolation measures during that year were due to anything other than the coronavirus pandemic. that 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,” the lawyer stated.
“To paraphrase Taylor Swift,” Stratton said in his particular ruling that cited the lyrics of All Too Well, from 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 death rate of COVID-19 was unknown, but to give just one example of the potential death rate, in March 2020, New York City was using dump trucks as emergency morgues. People were terrified.”
Brazil announced the first deaths 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 metalheads of Sad But True They appealed.
FUENTE: AFP
