NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – According to an amended complaint filed this week with the Davidson County Circuit Court, television personality Erin Andrews is now asking to be awarded $75 million in damages following a Peeping Tom incident in 2008.
The “Dancing with the Stars” co-host and Fox Sports reporter first initiated the lawsuit in 2011 after she was secretly videotaped at the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt by stalker Michael Barrett.
Barrett, the Nashville Marriott, and Marriott International, Inc. are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Hotels in Milwaukee and Columbus, Ohio are also named in separate suits.
In 2008, Barrett altered the peephole to Andrew’s hotel room and then recorded video of her while she was naked and changing clothes.
He later posted the video to the Internet.
Barrett was found guilty in the criminal case stemming from the incident and sentenced to two and a half years in federal prison.
In the civil suit, Andrews alleges the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt revealed Andrew’s hotel room number and placed Barrett in the room next to Andrews’ at his request.
The suit claims the hotel never notified Andrews that Barrett had requested her room number or was assigned a room next door.
The filing says Andrews continues to suffer from severe and permanent emotional distress and embarrassment.
News 2 spoke to attorney Alex Little with Bone McAllester Norton, Pllc a Nashville law firm not associated with the case.
“I, a regular citizen, may not expect a hotel to hide the fact I am there because there are plenty of legitimate reasons for someone to call and see if I am there,” Little said. “This person is a celebrity and because she is a celebrity she may have had the expectation that they would not release her room number. I think that is going to be a question for the jury.”
Little said there is no law in Tennessee restricting a hotel from releasing guest information if it is requested.
Andrews’ images were on the web and seen by countless people.
“It is incredibly dramatic, the amount of exposure she was given to the public through this criminal act.” He said. “In this type of case, the facts are going to be of such that any jury is going to find emotional distress if they get to damages.”
Of the allegations that Andrews makes, the strongest support for her side is the fact Barrett modified hotel property undetected by hotel staff.
“You are the hotel; you should supervise what is going on,” he said. “If I am sitting outside the hallway and I am doing some sort of maintenance on somebody’s door that should raise suspicion.”
He continued, “I think that is probably her strongest count.”
Little said if you check into a hotel and do not want your information shared, you should let the front desk know.
“If you have that kind of conversation with the hotel that type of implicit contract with them and they know they can’t disclose that,” he explained. “If that had happened here explicitly she would have an even stronger case.”
He continued, “But definitely that’s the sort of thing you can do to protect yourself.”
Attorneys for the hotels did not respond to calls for comment. A call to an attorney listed is court records as his attorney of record in Nashville said he no longer represents Barrett.
It appears according to court documents Barrett is representing himself.
Andrews’ case is set for trial in February 2016.
