October 17, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n\n\tCatherine and several family members filed the underlying lawsuit against Stanley, his Kiss co-founder Gene Simmons, and Kiss\u2019 longtime manager Doc McGee in October 2023, alleging negligence and wrongful death. Live Nation was also named as a defendant.<\/p>\n
\n\tStueber died two days after he was \u201cabandoned\u201d alone in a \u201crandom hotel room\u201d as his conditions worsened, the lawsuit alleged. It said the band had \u201cabsolutely no recommendation, information, policies, procedures, or safety measures of any kind\u201d in place to deal with staff who contracted Covid-19 on the road.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe lawsuit followed nearly two years after a\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em>\u00a0investigation\u00a0detailed claims from several Kiss roadies who claimed lax Covid-19 protocols contributed to Stueber\u2019s death. The roadies said\u00a0the band didn\u2019t regularly test the crew and that several crew workers fell ill with the virus before Stueber died.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\t\u201cI couldn\u2019t believe how unsafe it was, and that we were still going,\u201d one roadie told\u00a0Rolling Stone<\/em>\u00a0at the time. \u201cWe\u2019d been frustrated for weeks, and by the time Fran died, I just thought, \u2018You have to be fucking kidding me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tThe band refuted the allegations, saying its safety protocols \u201cmet, but most often exceeded, federal, state, and local guidelines.\u201d It said, \u201cultimately this is still a global pandemic and there is simply no foolproof way to tour without some element of risk.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tIn his post mourning Stueber\u2019s death, Stanley called the guitar tech his \u201cdear friend.\u201d He said the death was sudden. \u201cBoth on and offstage I depended on him for so much. My family loved him as did I. He was so proud of his wife and 3 boys as they were of him. I\u2019m numb,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\n
\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
\n\tKiss previously settled a related wrongful termination lawsuit brought by the band\u2019s longtime wig stylist. In that case, plaintiff David Mathews said he was with the band in Illinois in October 2021 when Stueber started showing severe Covid-19 symptoms. Mathews claimed he alerted McGhee to Stueber\u2019s dire condition, but no \u201ctimely\u201d action was taken.<\/p>\n