KISS is being sued by the family of their late guitar tech, Fran Stueber, who passed away from COVID-19, which he contracted while on tour with the band.
Rolling Stone has obtained court documents filed by Fran’s widow, Catherine Stueber, along with other family members, who are suing Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for negligence and wrongful death. KISS manager Doc McGhee, tour promoter Live Nation and Marriott International are also named in the suit.
Fran Stueber, who was Stanley’s longtime guitar tech, passed away in October 2021, after contracting COVID-19 during the band’s End of the Road tour. The court documents suggest the “dangerous condition created by Defendants” led to his death, noting, “the failure to enforce or have adequate Covid-19 policies or procedures caused a Covid-19 outbreak amongst band members and tour personnel.” It also claims that after coming down with COVID, Stueber was abandoned in Detroit to quarantine at a hotel.
The docs say Stueber called McGhee for help when he got sicker, and the manager said he was sending a doctor but allegedly never did. Instead, a crew member was sent and found Stueber unresponsive. Stueber passed away two days later.
The family is suing for unspecified special damages, damages relating to past, present and/or future wage loss and income, and medical expenses.
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