By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The estate of Chuck Close, an artist known for his large-scale realistic paintings of himself and others, has settled a lawsuit accusing Cigna Inc. of failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for medical care he needed in the final years of his life.
In a filing late Friday in Manhattan federal court, attorneys for Close’s estate said the two sides have reached a tentative settlement and expect to complete the settlement within 45 days and dismiss the case. Terms were not disclosed.
Cigna, the insurance company’s attorney and the attorney for Close’s estate, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Close died in August 2021 at the age of 81.
He used a wheelchair after being paralyzed in 1988 by a rare rupture of a spinal artery, and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal dementia. Close began receiving nursing home care in 2015.
The estate filed a lawsuit against Cigna in August 2022, seeking $686,723 in “wrongfully denied benefits” plus interest.
Last December, a judge dismissed Cigna’s counterclaim seeking $357,684 for services it believed were medically unnecessary.
Close’s large-scale portraits featured many famous people, including composer Philip Glass and model Kate Moss. His images 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.
