Re-posted by Nicholas Stix
When I call Andrews’ lawsuit “frivolous,” I’m not denying her humiliation. But the man who violated her, Michael David Barrett, went to prison. The only reason she sued Marriott, is because, unlike the guilty party, the hotel franchisee has deep pockets. Had she been able to sue the Marriott chain, instead of a franchisee, she doubtless would have sought a shakedown in the hundreds of millions of dollars. That makes this bit of court room theater a textbook, frivolous lawsuit, and one that, if the judgment is not reduced on appeal, could cause Nashville Marriott to close, and throw hundreds of people out of work.
Andrews’ tears on the stand do not impress me. She was performing. Michael David Barrett did not rape or kidnap her, or murder her mother.
Michael David Barrett shoving photographers
The jury judgment continues a long-term trend of vindictive jury behavior against big businesses, and toadying towards anyone considered a “celebrity.”
[Update]
Erin Andrews Awarded $55 Million in Lawsuit
By Meghan Keneally
Mar 7, 2016, 9:42 A.M. ET
ABC News
The jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million in her civil lawsuit over the secret recording and release of a video showing her naked during a hotel stay.
The sportscaster's original suit asked for $75 million from the owner and operator of the Nashville, Tennessee, hotel where she was staying, and Michael David Barrett, the stalker who used a hacksaw to tamper with her room's peephole and record the video in 2008.
West End Hotel Partners, which owns and operates that Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University, has said Barrett's criminal actions were his responsibility, not theirs. Barrett was convicted in criminal court of stalking Andrews and sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
What Erin Andrews' Testimony Means for Her $75 Million Lawsuit
Erin Andrews Chokes Up Talking About How Stalker Video Affects Her Relationships
Andrews, 37, testified last week over the course of two days during the trial and broke down in tears at several points in talking about the effect the 2009 release of the video online has had on her personal life.
The closing arguments for both sides ended Friday and the jurors were sent into deliberations after arriving in court this morning.
[Previously]
Jury to begin deliberating in Erin Andrews’ lawsuit
By Ryan Newton
March 7, 2016 at 8:03 a.m. CST
AP-KSN
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Jurors could soon decide whether two hotel companies should be held partially responsible for a stalker taking nude videos of sportscaster Erin Andrews and posting them online.
The jury is scheduled to begin deliberating in Andrews' civil case Monday. The sportscaster and co-host of the TV show "Dancing with the Stars" sued the stalker and the owner and former operator of the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt for $75 million. The hotel is a franchise.
Michael David Barrett pleaded guilty to stalking Andrews in three cities, altering hotel room peepholes in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio, and taking nude videos of her and posting them online.
Barrett was a Chicago-area insurance company executive when he took the videos of Andrews at the Nashville hotel in September 2008.
Whites winning the "Ghetto Lottery" I'd say. I wouldn't have given her a cent; on the other hand, a plastic Academy Award for "ACTING!" would be appropriate.
ReplyDeleteWhew, $55M, what a generous jury. Who were these jurors and why do they think money just drops from the sky? This whole lawsuit lottery has become one of the greatest sources of corruption in American society. The guy who did it is the sole person responsible and no one else. Yeah, just put the hotel out of business and put a lot of people out of work; no sense of responsibility on the part of anyone here.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the O.J. trial...Fame wins over facts.The only "Ghetto Lottery" is when blacks bait the cops into defending themselves and then sue the city for millions.But you know that don t you?
ReplyDelete"Her lawyers are claiming the hotel was negligent when it allowed Barrett to request a room next to her[s] without asking any questions."
ReplyDeleteMaybe she does have a bit of a case, but not in the tens of millions.
http://pagesix.com/2016/02/29/erin-andrews-stalker-revealed-his-creepy-peephole-techniques/