SANTA MONICA (CNS) – The family of the KISS guitar tech who died after contracting COVID-19 during the band’s 2021 End of the Road World Tour has reached a tentative settlement in their lawsuit against the band.
Catherine Stueber, the widow of the late Fran Steuber, is the lead plaintiff in the Santa Monica Superior Court lawsuit. Her husband was the longtime guitar tech for Paul Stanley. The wrongful death/negligence suit brought in October 2023 named as defendants Stanley, Gene Simmons, and KISS’ longtime manager, Doc McGhee, in addition to tour promoter Live Nation.
On Monday, the plaintiffs’ attorneys filed court papers with Judge Lisa K. Sepe-Wiesenfeld notifying her of a “conditional” accord in the case with the expectation a request for dismissal will be filed by Oct. 17. No terms were divulged.
According to the suit, Steuber contracted the coronavirus in October 2021. The suit cites a media story about his death in which three crew members who spoke on the condition of anonymity over fear of retaliation alleged that not enough was done to protect them and place the blame for Stueber’s death “squarely on tour production.”
But according to KISS lawyers, the 53-year-old Stueber, in violation of the written coronavirus protocols for the planned End of the World tour, submitted a fake vaccination card and then refused to seek medical attention after contracting COVID-19, despite being repeatedly urged by band members and tour officials.
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