MOL
California
Insurers have won the right to probe the mental health of Mick Jagger’s former girlfriend in the run up to her suicide to contest the Rolling Stones’ $12.7million claim for their cancelled tour.
A Utah judge has allowed underwriters to gather evidence from L’Wren Scott’s brother Randall Bambrough about possible illnesses, treatments and the circumstances of her death. The fashion designer was said to be distraught and ‘embarrassed’ over her failing business when she hanged herself in her Manhattan apartment in March. Her death prompted the rock group to postpone a concert tour of Australia and New Zealand and then file a $12.7million claim for losses.
Jagger was ‘diagnosed as suffering from acute traumatic stress disorder’ after Scott’s death and was advised by doctors not to perform for at least 30 days, according to court documents. Before the tour, the group took out a $23.9 million policy to be paid in the event shows were cancelled due to the death of family members. Among those listed for Jagger were Ms Scott, Jerry Hall, seven children and four grandchildren, according to the insurance policy that was included among court papers.
In denying the claim, underwriters said Scott might have been suffering from a pre-existing mental illness and her death might not be covered under the policy.
They said since her death was by her own hand it was neither ‘beyond her control’ nor ‘sudden and unforeseen’.
‘Ms. Scott intended to, and did, commit suicide and her death was therefore not ‘sudden and unforeseen,’ according to their statement in the lawsuit.
A federal judge in Utah has allowed the 12 underwriters to gather testimony and documents from Randall Bambrough, the brother of Ms Scott.
Mr Bambrough was not aware of the federal court case naming him when asked on Thursday and had not received a subpoena to provide testimony and documents about his sister.
The Rolling Stones cancelled a gig in Hanging Rock, Victoria, on Saturday night, as Jagger was suffering from a throat infection.
Underwriters also said it didn’t appear that Jagger had actually been examined by a doctor after Scott’s suicide.
Instead they say the claim was based on a letter from a doctor who did not personally examine Jagger and was not a psychiatrist.
The underwriters petitioned federal court in New York seeking the same type of information from Scott’s former personal assistant, Brittany Penebre, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and Adam Glassman, the executor of Scott’s estate.
Ms Scott, originally named Luann Bambrough by her adoptive Mormon parents, left her Utah home as a teenager to become a model in Paris.
She relocated to Los Angeles where she became a top stylist and high-end fashion designer whose elegant designs were favored by Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Oprah Winfrey and Penelope Cruz.
The fashionista was a regular fixture on Jagger’s arm after she met the Stones frontman in 2001.
On red carpets, the striking 6-foot-3 designer towered over her famous 5-foot-10 boyfriend.
They were in a relationship for 13 years and Jagger vehemently denied claims that they had split up prior to her suicide.
The Rolling Stones frontman published a statement on his website soon after her death, saying: ‘I am still struggling to understand how my lover and best friend could end her life in this tragic way.
‘We spent many wonderful years together and had made a great life for ourselves. She had great presence and her talent was much admired, not least by me.
‘I have been touched by the tributes that people have paid to her, and also the personal messages of support that I have received. I will never forget her.’
Jagger was in Perth with his bandmates when Ms Scott’s body was found in Chelsea.
The next day, the group announced that they had ‘postponed’ seven shows of the ‘On Fire’ tour until an undetermined date because of her death.
Jo Wood, the former wife of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie, said Jagger was ‘absolutely devastated.’