Erin Andrews' Lawyer Argues Negligence by Hotel Allowed Stalker to Tape Her
The sportscaster is suing for $75 million.
— -- The lawyer for Erin Andrews gave his closing arguments in Andrews' $75 million civil suit against a hotel operator that her lawyers argue did not protect her from being secretly recorded in 2008.
Her attorney, Bruce Broillet, maintained that the owners and operators of the Nashville Marriott were at fault for not keeping the sportscaster safe when she was a guest.
"This has to be our home away from home," Broillet said of hotels. "We turn ourselves over to them and their protection."
The suit stems from the release of a video that Andrews' stalker filmed after using a hacksaw to remove the peephole from her hotel door. The video was recorded on his cellphone and was released a year later online.
Andrews, 37, is suing West End Hotel Partners, which operates the Nashville Marriott at Vanderbilt University, as well as her stalker Michael David who was sentenced to serve 2.5 years in prison after admitting to stalking.
West End Hotel Partners has said that Barrett's criminal actions were his responsibility, not theirs.
"It is not an intent issue, it's a negligence issue," Broillet said. "When somebody asks for a room next to someone else, you can't just assume it's a good-natured person."
Andrews broke down at several points while testifying earlier in the trial about the emotional impact of the video's release.
"This is a post traumatic stress disorder problem for which there is no post. It's every day. She knows there are people looking at her naked on the Internet every day," Broillet said in his closing remarks.
In the defense's closing argument, attorney Marc Dedman Davenport used the Sept. 11 attacks as an example of how it is impossible to predict future actions of criminals.
"Who ever could foresee that people would fly planes into buildings in our country?" Dedman said in court this afternoon.
"Just because something happened doesn't make it foreseeable. Looking back, we can see these things... but looking forward, crimes happen because criminals figure out ways to avoid systems," he said.
Jury deliberations will start Monday morning.