Metallica loses lawsuit due to cancellation of shows due to the COVID-19 pandemic

The million-dollar demand that Metallica filed against an insurance company to be compensated for performances canceled during the pandemic was rejected by an appeals court in California, in the United States, which cited lyrics by pop diva Taylor Swift in its decision.

The legendary metal band was asking for more than US$3 million (around R$15 million) from insurance company Lloyd’s of London, which refused to cover losses from six canceled performances during the height of COVID-19 in 2020, based on a clause which excluded cases related to “contagious diseases”

The performers of “…And justice for all” argued that the cancellation of their shows in Brazil, Argentina and Chile – part of the Latin American tour in the first half of 2020 – could have been caused by factors other than the virus.

But California’s Second District Court of Appeal Judge Maria Stratton said in her ruling that it was presumably “absurd” and “unrealistic” that lockdowns this year were for any reason other than the coronavirus pandemic, which left victims all over the world.

“There is no doubt that, in March 2020, South American countries suspended visas and then closed their borders due solely to COVID-19 or fear of the disease”, he stressed.

“To paraphrase Taylor Swift,” Stratton said in the decision, quoting lyrics from the American singer’s “All too well”: “‘We were there. We remember it very well’. There were no vaccines against COVID-19 in March 2020, nor medicines for your treatment.”

“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 refrigerated trucks as emergency morgues. People were terrified.”

Brazil announced the first deaths from COVID-19 in March 2020, while Argentina implemented isolation measures and closed borders. The advancement of the pandemic caused the suspension of events, travel and a multitude of cancellations that severely affected several sectors.

The demand by Metallica, made up of James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo, is one of many legal actions by actors in the entertainment industry seeking compensation for losses during this period.

The case had already been dismissed by a Los Angeles court, in December 2022, based on the understanding that the pandemic was what led to the cancellations. But the performers of “Sad but true” appealed.