A Nashville jury on Monday awarded television broadcaster Erin Andrews $55 million, to be paid by her stalker, a Nashville hotel's management group and its owner.
The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for seven hours after the nine-day negligence trial. Andrews filed the lawsuit about six years ago against Michael David Barrett, a man who secretly recorded her through an altered peephole in her room at Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University in September 2008, and the hotel owner and operator.
A tearful Andrews hugged her lawyers, parents and then individual jurors after the decision.
"I would like to thank the Nashville court, the court personnel and the jury for their service," Andrews said in a statement she posted on Twitter. "The support I've received from the people of Nashville has been overwhelming. I would also like to thank my family, friends and legal team. I've been honored by all the support from victims around the world. Their outreach has helped me be able to stand up and hold accountable those whose job it is to protect everyone's safety, security and privacy."
Andrews sought as much as $75 million from Barrett; the hotel owner, West End Hotel Partners; and the hotel management company, Windsor Capital Group. She also sued Marriott International, but Circuit Court Judge Hamilton Gayden dismissed claims against the hotel giant in late January saying that, among other reasons, the franchisor was not responsible for security at a local hotel.
Barrett is 51 percent at fault in the case, while the hotel owner and management company are on the hook for the remaining 49 percent.
Lawyers for the hotel operator and owner told reporters they are disappointed in the jury's decision and they had cooperated with the investigation into the nude video. No decision has been made on whether to appeal. Marc Dedman, one of defense lawyers, said the hotel industry has changed as a result of the case, calling what happened to Andrews a crime.
West End Hotel Partners released the following statement:
"West End Hotel Partners aims to provide and maintain safeguards throughout our properties, including the Nashville Marriott, to protect all of our guests, employees and customers. We regret the criminal acts which happened to Ms. Andrews during her stay in 2008 and the pain she has continued to endure. 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. We are committed to providing a safe and hospitable environment for all of our guests and employees."
Patrick M. Nesbitt, CEO and chairman of Windsor Capital Group, released the following statement:
“All of us at Windsor Capital Group would like to apologize to Ms. Andrews for the unfortunate experience she encountered while she stayed at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt, a hotel we managed at the time. Concern for the safety of our guests and employees is always of the upmost importance to us, and we are committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure the safety of all of those under our charge. Mr. Barrett’s actions remind us that criminals are always trying to circumvent our best security efforts and should serve as a call to action for the entire hotel industry to be diligent in ensuring our guests’ safety and privacy. As such, Windsor Capital Group is constantly reviewing the safety and security procedures at all of our properties so that we may provide our guests with the best possible hotel experience."
Mark Chalos, a Nashville attorney who has been analyzing the Andrews case for The Tennessean, said the decision showed "the jury realized that Ms. Andrews is the victim here and that Nashvillians recognize an injustice when they see it."
The trial began on Feb. 22, and the jury heard seven days of testimony. They heard from hotel executives and front-desk staff; from hotel safety experts and a social worker and a psychologist; from a former NFL player who worked with Andrews; from the stalker and from Andrews and her parents.
Andrews described in two days of testimony how the videos going viral on the Internet in July 2009 turned her into a shell of her former self, and how she has devoted herself to her career as way to cope and prove she is a professional, not the woman known for the peephole scandal.
The jurors also saw 4 1/2 minutes of video Barrett secretly recorded of Andrews nude in her hotel room on Sept. 4, 2008, while she prepared for a Thursday night Vanderbilt University football game, and a 6-second clip he recorded of her in Feb. 2008 at a hotel on Ohio State University's campus. At the time, Andrews worked as a sidelines reporter for ESPN.
Barrett tried to sell the videos to celebrity gossip website TMZ but was turned down. He then posted them online.
Andrews was unaware of the videos until July 2009, when they began spreading around the Internet like wildfire, and on the day she had been auditioning for "Dancing with the Stars." She now works for Fox Sports and co-hosts the dance competition show on ABC.
According to trial testimony, in just six years the videos were watched more than 16.8 million times.
Attorneys for the hotel, led by Marc Dedman and Brent Usery of Spicer Rudstrom law firm in Nashville, argued at trial that Barrett alone was to blame and said the hotel companies could not be held responsible for his criminal actions. They also focused questions on Andrews' success after the videos were leaked.
Barrett pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge in 2009 and served 20 months in prison.
But Andrews' attorneys, Randall Kinnard of Nashville and Bruce Broillet of California, argued the hotel staff enabled Barrett. They said staff never verified Barrett's request for a room adjoining Andrews' and allowed Barrett to find Andrews' room.
