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Friday, October 5, 2018

Kim Kardashian robbed ! ~ Insurance and Subrogation ! ? !


She would need no introduction as most would have fondly seen her photos .. A post on ‘Kim Kardashian’ ~ linking something to Insurance !

Kimberly Noel Kardashian West - is an American reality television personality, always hogging limelight.  Kardashian first gained media attention as a friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but received wider notice after a 2003 sex tape with her former boyfriend Ray J was leaked in 2007. Later that year, she and her family began to appear in the E! reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Its success soon led to the creation of spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York and Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami. Kardashian's personal life soon became subject to widespread media attention.  In recent past, she has grown an influential online and social media presence, including tens of millions of followers on Twitter and Instagram. She has released a variety of products tied to her name, including the successful 2014 mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, a variety of clothing and products, and the 2015 photo book Selfish.  Time magazine included Kardashian on their list of 2015's 100 most influential people,  while Vogue described her in 2016 as a "pop culture phenomenon." Recently, she successfully lobbied US President Donald Trump to pardon grandmother Alice Johnson over a non-violent drug charge.

Subrogation :  a principle in Insurance – one would often hear ‘Insurer stepping into the shoes of the insured after payment of loss, meaning, acquiring the right of policy holder to proceed against any party responsible for the loss and trying to recover the amount paid (but restricted to the value paid and not entitled to more than that).   The  insurer (insurance company) has legal right to claim any future gains from the property for which a claim is being paid for any recovery and/or settlement. Subrogation is a right that a person has of standing in the place of another and availing himself of all the rights and remedies of that another, whether already enforced or not.  A right of subrogation typically arises by operation of law, but can also arise by statute or by agreement. Subrogation is an equitable remedy, having first developed in the English Court of Chancery.

The examples that often cited are : Marine Cargo claims, when paid – Insurer acquiring the rights and proceeding against the Carrier for recovery. Such recoveries can be against bailee (CFS / Port) when loss occur in their premises though the conditions under which such enforcement is likely would differ.  Theoretically, a fire emanating from neighbouring premises, there is right of subrogation against that premise holder !! ~  here is a totally different interesting subrogation claim by Insurer involving Kim Kardashian.

In 2016, On Sunday night, the famous  rapper Kanye West  took the stage at the inaugural The Meadows Music & Arts Festival in Queens, only to cut his headlining set short due to a "family emergency."   The news later came that his wife, was held at gunpoint and robbed during her stay in Paris.  Kanye West's assistant broke the news to him about an hour into his show, just as he launched into Heartless. The interruption earned some NSFW reactions from fans, already frustrated with the rapper after he showed up 30 minutes late for his set. The  shocking robbery in her Paris lodgings last night, his famous wife  may have had a dazzling ring worth £3.5million stolen from her. The reality star Kim was reported to have been robbed of £8.5million  [in Indian Rs. 72.50 crores !] of jewellery including the sparkler which was her second engagement ring designed by her husband Kanye West.

The luxury residence where the woman  was robbed at gunpoint was so exclusive it was known as the 'No Address France' locally. The reality star, 35, had millions of dollars worth of jewellery stolen by five armed masked men while staying at l'Hotel de Pourtalès, which is located in Paris' 8th  district. Its popularity with celebrities earned it this nickname, because it is not widely advertised – its website requires a log-in to even view - and attracts customers discreetly simply through word of mouth.   But .. .. its high security could not stop, the famous dame being attacked in the early hours of this morning. The men stole a jewellery box worth €6 million ($6.7 million) and a ring worth €4 million ($4.5 million), prompting fears that the valuables were personal ones, and not just jewellery.  Reports suggested that at  around 2.30am, the robbers entered the building after the concierge let them in. Handcuffed and at gunpoint, he then had to lead them to the starlet's flat.  They entered her room, threatened her with a weapon, tied her up and locked her in the bathroom.  

Some reported that a crime gang - the Pink Panthers were involved in the robbery at Kim's home - a luxury block apartment block called Hotel Pourtalès - they would have done their homework; they probably monitored Kim's social media and may have seen the jewellery she was wearing in Paris after she Snapchatted a picture. 

Recently there was a news that Kim Kardashian dropped a court case against a website that claimed she staged an armed robbery in Paris. Her lawyer said the two sides had resolved the issue. The reality star said she would take US celebrity gossip site MediaTakeOut to court but  reportedly  dropped the case after it issued an apology. The site reported the 35-year-old had faked being robbed at gunpoint at a luxury apartment in the French capital earlier this month. The publication also accused her of making a fraudulent insurance claim for millions of dollars of jewellery.

Now comes an interesting news that the  bodyguard who bailed on Kim Kardashian  just before she was robbed at gunpoint in Paris is being sued ... media reports suggest that Pascal Duvier and the company he worked for -- PROTECTSECURITY -- are being sued by Kim's insurance company for $6.1 million ... the amount the insurance company paid Kim for the stolen jewelry that was taken at gunpoint October 3, 2016 at a Paris hotel.  It is reported that  Duvier left the hotel room and followed Kourtney and Kendall to a nearby club, leaving Kim without security. The lawsuit also claims there were a number of security breaches in the hotel the bodyguard failed to correct. Among other things, the front gate to the courtyard of the hotel was missing a lock, and the intercom to the door was not functioning ... things the bodyguard should have flagged.

The lawsuit, (subrogation recovery) filed by AIG, claims the breaches allowed the masked gunmen to enter the hotel and make their way up to Kim's unit, where she was gagged, tied up and put in a bathtub. The lawsuit blasts the concierge for not having any security training, but neither he nor the hotel are being sued. You'll recall he was held at gunpoint and taken up to Kim's unit where he unlocked the door. Kim is not suing ... AIG paid Kim's claim and is now going after the individual and company it believes were negligent and caused the robbery.  They are reportedly being sued for $6.1m (£4.7m) by the celebrity's insurer after she was robbed in Paris two years ago. The Insurer had paid for the cost of the jewellery stolen in the incident.

AIG's lawsuit, filed in Delaware, reportedly claims the bodyguard and his firm left the celebrity alone in her room. According to celebrity website TMZ, the suit also alleges there were numerous security breaches - including a missing or broken lock and a broken intercom system - which they think should also have been addressed. French police arrested 10 people in January 2017 in their hunt for the gang of robbers.  A case of Insurer enforcing the subrogation rights !!

Interesting !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
5th Oct 2018.



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