Nashville Jury Awards ESPN's Erin Andrews $55 Million After Stalker Filmed Her Through Hotel Peephole

In September 2008, Michael David Barrett checked into the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University and arranged to be placed in a room adjacent to Erin Andrews, then an ESPN sportscaster. Barrett altered the door peephole with a hacksaw, used the modified peephole to film Andrews in the nude without her knowledge, and later posted the recordings online. He was separately prosecuted, pleaded guilty to interstate stalking, and served a federal prison sentence.

Andrews filed a civil lawsuit against Barrett and against the hotel ownership entities: West End Hotel Partners and Windsor Capital Group. The core claim against the hotel defendants was that their front-desk employees had disclosed Andrews's room number to Barrett and had accommodated his request to be placed next to her, creating the conditions that made the filming possible. Claims against Marriott International were dismissed by the trial judge before the case reached the jury.

At trial in Davidson County Circuit Court, Andrews testified about the severe and lasting harm the episode caused to her career, her sense of safety, and her daily life. Her legal team, which included Nashville attorney Randall Kinnard, asked the jury to hold the hotel defendants accountable for the breach of basic guest-security protocols that allowed Barrett to identify and access his target. The jury deliberated for seven hours.

On March 7, 2016, the jury returned a verdict of $55 million. It assigned Michael David Barrett 51 percent of total fault and West End Hotel Partners and Windsor Capital Group the remaining 49 percent. The hotel entities were responsible for just under $27 million of the award. Andrews had originally sought $75 million from all defendants combined.

Following the verdict, the hotel defendants reached a confidential settlement with Andrews, the terms of which have not been disclosed. No appellate opinion reducing the $55 million jury figure has been reported.