Erin Andrews suing hotel chains for $1.2 million

By Adam Silverstein
July 16, 2010

Victimized by an interstate stalker who plead guilty to secretly filming her in the nude on numerous occasions in hotel rooms across the country last year, former Florida Gators dazzler turned ESPN reporter Erin Andrews filed suit Thursday against the man and seven hotel chains which she believes aided him in carrying out his illegal actions.

In March, Michael David Barrett, 48, was sentenced to a 27-month prison term and three years of supervised probation after he admitted to following Andrews from hotel-to-hotel over at least a period of nine months. Attempting to locate her, Barrett contacted at least 14 hotels to determine where and in what room she was staying; he was often provided with this information, which Andrews contends is an invasion of privacy.

Federal agents determined that, after finding out her whereabouts, Barrett would check into a room next to Andrews, alter the peephole device of her room and secretly shoot video of her before e-mailing it to a personal account.

Now that Barrett’s punishment has been decided, Andrews is demanding the hotels take responsibility for providing her room number and other personal information to a stranger without prior approval.

According to the Associated Press, her $1.2 million suit against the hotels claims “severe and permanent emotional distress” resulting from their inappropriate actions.

“Although I’ll never be able to fully erase the impact that this invasion of privacy has had upon me and my family, I do hope that my experience will cause the hospitality industry to be more vigilant in protecting its guests from the time they reserve a hotel room until they check out,” Andrews said in a written statement.

Though these memories still remain, she has moved on in recent months by starring in ABC’s Dancing with the Stars reality competition and signing a new contract with ESPN to remain with the network in an expanded role going forward.

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