On Monday, Erin Andrews was awarded $55 million in her lawsuit against the owner and operator of the Nashville Marriott and against her stalker, Michael David Barrett, who recorded her in the nude at the hotel.
Barrett served two years in jail for secretly recording Andrews with his cellphone camera in Nashville in September 2008, and during another incident in Columbus, Ohio. The sportscaster and Dancing with the Stars co-host sought $75 million, with her attorneys arguing that the Marriott should never have let Barrett know where Andrews was staying or allow him to book the room next to hers. They also stated that the hotel should have notified Andrews that someone asked to stay next to her.
Attorneys for the hotel's owner, West End Hotel Partners, and former management company, Windsor Capital Group, argued that only Barrett was responsible for the crimes, NBC News reports. On the witness stand, Andrews described how humiliated she was by the tape, and said it led to her being harassed online and in public; attorneys for the hotel claimed her professional success shows she did not suffer permanent damage. It took the jury less than eight hours to deliberate, and Barrett will have to pay $28 million, while the owner and management company will split covering $26 million.
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