Chuck Close's estate settles lawsuit against Cigna over medical bills

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The estate of Chuck Close, the artist known for massive photorealist portraits of himself and others, settled a lawsuit accusing Cigna of failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for needed medical care in the last years of his life.

In a filing late Friday in Manhattan federal court, a lawyer for Close's estate said both sides reached an agreement in principle to settle, and expect to complete a settlement within 45 days and dismiss the case. Terms were not disclosed.

Cigna, the insurer's lawyer and the lawyer for Close's estate did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Close died in August 2021 at age 81.

He used a wheelchair after being paralyzed in 1988 with a rare spinal artery rupture, and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Close began receiving in-home nursing care in 2015.

The estate sued Cigna in August 2022 for $686,723 in "wrongly denied benefits" plus interest.

Last December, a judge dismissed Cigna's counterclaim to recoup $357,684 for services it believed were not medically necessary.

Close's larger-than-life portraits featured many well-known subjects, including composer Philip Glass and model Kate Moss. His portraits could be indistinguishable from photographs when reproduced, as in books.

The case is Estate of Close v Cigna Health and Life Insurance Corp, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 22-07449.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)