The family of a longtime KISS guitar tech who died in 2021 after contracting COVID-19 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the band, Rolling Stone has reported.
Fran Stueber, who served as KISS frontman Paul Stanley’s guitar tech for nearly 20 years, passed away in October ’21 at age 52 while quarantining after he became infected with COVID during KISS’ End of the Road Tour. According to a document reviewed by Rolling Stone, Stueber’s widow, Catherine, and other family members are alleging that some of the band’s members and some of their associates are libel for negligence and wrongful death.
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Among the defendants named in the suit are Stanley and his fellow KISS co-founder Gene Simmons, longtime band manager Doc McGhee, and tour promoter Live Nation, as well as the Marriott International hotel chain.
The lawsuit claims that because of “the dangerous condition” for which the defendants were allegedly responsible, Stueber “suffered fatal injuries and Plaintiffs suffered damages, including, but not limited to funeral and burial expenses, the permanent deprivation of the love, companionship, affection, solace, society, comfort, assistance, services and financial contributions, and moral support of [Stueber].”
The suit also claims that “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 when Stueber started feeling sick while staying in a hotel during the 2021 tour, he reached out to McGhee, who allegedly told Stueber he’d send a medical professional to examine him. Instead, the suit claims, a crew member eventually was tasked to check on Stueber but was unable to contact him, so they called the police, who found Stueber unresponsive in his hotel room. Stueber subsequently died after quarantining for two days.
The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, including money connected with lost wages — past, present and/or future — medical expenses, and more.
Representatives for KISS and the other defendants didn’t immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for a comment on the matter.
The magazine also pointed out that an investigation it conducted into the matter two years ago looked into claims by a number of KISS road-crew members that lax COVID protocols on the tour may have been a factor in Stueber’s death.
Among the claims were that that the crew wasn’t tested regularly for COVID and that some crew members contracted the virus prior to Stueber’s death. A number of the allegations from the Rolling Stone story were mentioned in the lawsuit launched by Stueber’s family members.
However, KISS maintained to Rolling Stone at the time that the tour’s safety protocols “met, but most often exceeded, federal, state, and local guidelines,” while noting that because a global pandemic was still ongoing, there was “no foolproof way to tour without some element of risk.”
The band also claimed that some crew members “attempted to conceal signs of illness, and when it was discovered, refused medical attention,” and alleged that some others “may have may have provided fake vaccination cards.”
KISS is preparing to play its final series of shows on its long-running End of the Road Tour. The last 25 dates kick off October 19 in Cincinnati and are plotted out through a December 1-2 stand at Madison Square Garden in the band’s hometown, New York City.
KISS had been scheduled to perform in Dubai on October 13, but that show was canceled, according to the venue, “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
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