The Erin Andrews naked video stalking matter is one of the most troubling examples of what can happen when your privacy is destroyed when illegally created video is uploaded onto the Internet. Ms. Andrews is a sports reporter who has worked at ESPN and is now at Fox Sports. In 2008, a stalker by the name of Michael David Barrett started to follow her and thought it would be a profitable economic venture to video record her nude and then sell the images to the highest bidder.
Mr. Barrett followed Ms. Andrews to the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University. While at the hotel, he figured out how to obtain Ms. Andrews' room number by using a house phone and asking to be connected to her room. When being transferred, Ms. Andrews' room number appeared on the phone's display. With this information, Mr. Barrett asked the hotel if he could stay in a room next to Ms. Andrews and he was granted his wish.
Once Mr. Barrett obtained Ms. Andrews room number, he utilized a hack saw to remove her door's peephole. When he heard that she was showering he uncovered her door's doctored peephole and put his cell phone to the opening and recorded approximately four and a half minutes of her naked. After he was finished, he tried to sell the video. There were no interested bidders so he uploaded it online anyway.
Mr. Barrett was subsequently prosecuted for his crimes and Ms. Andrews filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Barrett and the hotel operator/owner where the incident occurred. According to testimony during Ms. Andrews' civil trial against those she is trying to hold legally responsible for this incident approximately 17 million people have so far viewed the video of her naked.
Through no fault of her own, she has been seen naked all over the world for more than 7 years. No technology will be able to permanently scrub this the content from the Internet. While Ms. Andrews has prospered in her career despite this very disgusting incident, I believe she has lost out on tens of millions of dollars in potential income and business opportunities. Because of this situation, she has to spend a tremendous amount of time and money on security and privacy protocols along with mental health assistance. The emotional toll has been devastating and will continue for years to come.
There is recent precedent for a multi-million dollar damage award for emotional distress for privacy damages. Last year, rapper 50 Cent was ordered to pay $5 million dollars in damages for leaking a naked video of a woman who had fathered a child with a rival of his. Therefore, juries have begun to understand that damages should be awarded for destroying one's personal privacy.
Interestingly, NBC News has reported that a representative of one of the defendants/a witness who has testified was accused of watching Ms. Andrews' naked video in a restaurant yesterday. This appears to demonstrate that one of the defendants do not take this matter seriously. After watching some of the testimony and reading about the activities of those acting on behalf of the defense, I hope Ms. Andrews wins her case and is awarded millions of dollars.
The hotel owed a duty of care to protect Ms. Andrews' privacy. It failed. But for the hotel's negligence in deploying technology that would enable others to obtain the room numbers of their guests, this incident would not have occurred. The hotel's choice of technology put the personal privacy and safety of Ms. Andrews and other guests at risk. Ms. Andrews will always be naked on the Internet and has incurred significant damages that I believe have been proven at trial. Therefore, it wouldn't surprise me if she is awarded millions of dollars in damages.
Copyright 2016 by the Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC. All rights reserved.
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