A Tennessee jury has awarded sports reporter Erin Andrews $55 million in
an invasion of privacy lawsuit. Andrews sued after peeping tom video footage
of her in a Nashville hotel surfaced online in 2009. Andrews’ stalker
videotaped her nude through a peephole from the hotel room next to Andrews’
room. She filed suit against the operator, a Nashville-based Marriott
hotel, and Michael David Barrett, the man who modified her hotel room’s
peephole to record video of her.
The jury award will be split between Barrett, the hotel’s management
company, and the hotel’s owner. Andrews initially filed her case
in 2010. She originally sued the Marriott hotel’s parent company,
but the company was dismissed after the judge ruled the corporation was
not responsible for the Nashville franchise location’s security.
Barrett had attempted to sell the video to the online gossip website TMZ,
but was rebuffed. He subsequently posted the recording online. According
to Andrews’ attorneys, hotel staff had violated Andrews’ privacy
and told Barrett where she was staying so he could book a room next to hers.
Although Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, Siegel, P.C. was not involved in
this case, our team of seasoned attorneys provides high-caliber legal
representations for invasion of privacy victims. We currently represent
many of the women whose privacy were violated when they were unknowingly
filmed by Rabbi Barry Freundel they were bathing in a Mikvah, a sacred
jewish bath. If you or a loved had their privacy invaded, please
contact our team of professionals for a free consultation.