Summary: A jury awarded sportscaster Erin Andrews $55 million in her peeping tom case against Marriott Hotels.
A Nashville jury has awarded sports reporter Erin Andrews $55 million in her case against the hotel chain, Marriott. According to Yahoo, she sought $75 million in a civil suit after peeping tom Michael David Barrett tampered with her room’s peephole to record a video of her inside of her room. In 2009, Barrett posted the video online, which showed her naked, and it resulted in an embarrassing ordeal for the otherwise clean-cut star.
Andrews sued West End Hotel Partners, which manages the Marriott in Vanderbilt, and pervert Barrett.
The jury deliberated for seven hours before they found Barrett mostly responsible, which means he must pay $28 million while the hotel is liable for $26 million. In addition to the civil case, Barrett was previously sentenced to 2.5 years in prison for stalking Andrews. He reserved a room next to hers, and in a video, he confessed that he found where she was staying through a hotel directory.
During the trial, Andrews testified that the incident gave her psychological major issues that carried over with her current relationship with hockey player Jarrett Stoll, whom she met after the incident.
“I feel really guilty he didn’t know me before this happened and to try to explain to someone who has questions about why I have trust issues, why I’m insecure, why I’m embarrassed; he doesn’t understand,” Andrews told the jury.
Andrews is a broadcast journalist for Fox News and previously for ESPN. She also co-hosts ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” She and her father thanked the jury through statements on Twitter.
Andrews was represented by attorney Marshall Grossman.
Source: Yahoo