Jury selection for a stalking lawsuit filed by Fox Sports reporter Erin Andrews against a Nashville Marriott hotel began on Monday, and the court proceedings will resume on Tuesday with opening statements from her legal representatives, The Tennessean reported.
Minutes ago: Erin Andrews walks back in Nashville courtroom on the first day of jury selection in negligence trial. pic.twitter.com/PeDetvJYGO
— Hayley Mason (@WSMVHayleyMason) February 22, 2016
Andrews is reportedly seeking $75 million in damages in a lawsuit that accuses the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University for their negligence in security. According to the lawsuit filed in Davidson County Circuit Court, a man named Michael David Barrett reserved a room next to hers and rigged her room’s peepholes with a camera and recorded videos of Andrews as she changed her clothes.
Fox host Erin Andrews seeks $75m in damages after man put hidden camera in her hotel room https://t.co/chWF48UxOz pic.twitter.com/BgJYvY6vpz
— Independent US (@IndyUSA) February 22, 2016
The reporter, who was working for ESPN in 2008, was in Nashville to cover a Vanderbilt football match, according to court documents. Barrett allegedly uploaded the videos on the Internet. He pleaded guilty in 2009 to stalking and shooting the nude videos and reportedly faced 30 months imprisonment the following year.
Erin Andrews originally named Marriott International as a defendant, but a judge dismissed the hotel company as a defendant just last month. Her lawsuit lists Barrett, Windsor Capital Group, the hotel’s parent company, and Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University. She accuses the hotel of “negligence, infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of privacy” according to The Tennessean.
Court dismisses Marriott International from Erin Andrews’ lawsuit https://t.co/gyZSlQ5GDr
— WJHL (@WJHL11) February 18, 2016
During jury selection on the first day of the civil trial for the stalking lawsuit, members of the press were allegedly kept out of the courtroom due to Judge Hamilton Gayden’s interpretation of Rule 30, which is related to media access. They were later permitted to enter the courtroom for the last part of jury selection after an attorney for The Tennessean and Channel 4 intervened.
Private jury selection is underway in Erin Andrews’ civil lawsuit against the Marriott at Vanderbilt for peeping Tom pic.twitter.com/9wOJ0DB5Yt
— Hayley Mason (@WSMVHayleyMason) February 22, 2016
The trial for Erin Andrews’ negligence lawsuit against the hotel is expected to last about 10 days