A jury on Tuesday (AEDT) found that the owners and management company of a Nashville hotel are liable for sports reporter Erin Andrews being videotaped nude through a peephole by a stalker in 2008, awarding the Fox Sports reporter AUD$74 million in damages.
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The jury decided that 51 percent of the $55 million will be shouldered by Barrett, but it is very obvious that the 54-year-old does not have the capability to pay $28 million.
Chris O’Brien, a personal injury lawyer and co-director of trial advocacy at the University at Buffalo Law School in NY, said the defense attorneys might not expect as much of a reduction as they would have before the verdict.
Barrett, the defendant who actually took the video, was already serving a prison sentence for the illegal taping.
Marc Dedman, a lawyer for the hotel operator and owner, told reporters he was disappointed in the jury’s decision and said that they had cooperated with the investigation into the nude video.
Andrews had originally sought $75 million in the case. “I think about it every day”, she said.
On Monday, Erin Andrews was finally awarded million in her lawsuit against Marriott Hotels for the high-profile stalking case from 2008.
Barrett then posted the video online for public viewing. The resulting video was viewed over 16.8 million times per a forensic consultant who testified at the trial.
“These acts Mr. Barrett committed serve as a reminder to the hotel industry to review safety and security procedures that ensure a first-rate experience to all guests”, the statement from West End Hotel Partners read.
Vanderbilt psychologist Dr. Kim Brown testified that the former ESPN, now Fox Sports sportscaster, now 37, suffers from mild post-traumatic stress disorder. Barrett covertly doctored the peephole, allowing the stalker to record atleast 4 and half minutes of Andrews being nude. According to Andrews’ testimony, Barrett requested to be near Andrews’ hotel room and hotel staff honored that request. The only reason he picked Andrews, he said, was because she was popular and he saw that she was trending on Yahoo.
“It’s on the Internet now”, she said, “And I’ve been told it’s going to be on the Internet until I die”. “She doesn’t trust anymore”, Andrews said about his daughter.
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The Tennessee Supreme Court has said that, if the victim of wrongdoing can show all of that, a negligent party like the hotel may be responsible for paying even for the damages caused by an intentional wrongdoer like Barrett.
