Pop singer Britney Spears is suing eight insurance companies after their refusal to pay her for losses sustained when she was forced to cancel a number of dates on her 'Onyx Hotel' tour last year due to a knee injury.
Spears is seeking almost $10m in damages following the refusal of the insurance companies to compensate her for the losses suffered as a result of the cancellation of tour dates.
A 14-page lawsuit was filed on behalf of the singer in Manhattan State Supreme Court late last week. The lawsuit claims that Spears suffered an injury to her left knee in June 2004, which required surgical repair.
Seven London based insurance companies and one French firm have been named in the lawsuit. According to Spears' lawyer, John Callaghy, the singer had paid more than $1.3m to the companies in insurance premiums.
Callaghy said: "This is a straightforward case. We asked them to do the right thing, and they won't do it."
Spears underwent a medical examination in February 2004 as part of the insurance process and was declared "in a fit condition" for her tour.
However, she did not note on a questionnaire that she had previously had minor orthopaedic surgery on her left knee, from which she had fully recovered.
Spears was forced to cancel two shows in her tour in March 2004 after injuring her knee during a performance. A medical examination determined that the injury was on the opposite side of the knee to the previous injury.
The singer continued performing until June, when floating cartilage on her knee, which required surgical attention, forced her to cancel the remainder of her tour.
