Sportscaster Erin Andrews on Monday won a $55 million judgment against a stalker and the owner of a Nashville hotel where he recorded secret nude videos of her.
The judgment, announced by a jury in the late afternoon, is less than the $75 million Andrews sought from the owner and operator of the Nashville Marriott and the stalker, Michael David Barrett, who has already served a prison sentence.
The jury deliberated for less than eight hours, splitting the blame — and damages — roughly equally between Barrett, who will have to pay about $28 million, and the two companies, which are on the hook for about $26 million.
Andrews’ lawyers argued during a week-long trial that the hotel should have kept Barrett from finding out where she was staying, and from booking a room next to hers, while she was in town to cover a September 2008 college football game for ESPN. The hotel, the lawyers said, also should have alerted Andrews that someone had asked to sleep next door.
Barrett filmed Andrews by removing door peepholes and aiming a cell phone camera into her room.
Andrews, who now works for Fox Sports and co-hosts “Dancing with the Stars,” took the stand, tearfully describing the humiliation of knowing millions of people had watched the footage — and of being harassed online and in public. The hotel’s owner, West End Hotel Partners, and former management company, Windsor Capital Group, argued that Barrett alone was responsible for the crimes. He has served more than two years in prison for secretly filming Andrews in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio. He testified via videotaped deposition. The hotel lawyers also argued that Andrews’ continued professional success showed she hasn’t suffered severe and permanent damage. This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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