Erin Andrews Seeks $75 Million in Damages in Hotel Peeping Tom Lawsuit

In response to a judicial order requested by defense lawyers, Dancing With the Stars co-host and Fox Sports correspondent Erin Andrews has disclosed that she is seeking $75 million in damages for being secretly videotaped changing in a Tennessee hotel room.

In 2008, Michael David Barrett, 51, filmed then-ESPN staffer Erin Andrews, in Nashville covering a Vanderbilt University football game, through a front door peephole; he then uploaded several nude clips to the Internet. He pled guilty to felony stalking, and was subsequently sentenced to 30 months in prison. Barrett was released from custody in 2012, and was scheduled to complete a three-year probation term this past summer. He is one of multiple defendants in Andrews’ lawsuit, which was filed in 2011 and also targets Marriott International.

According to court documents obtained by The Smoking Gun, the lawsuit includes multiple counts of negligence and invasion of privacy, alleging that hotel workers revealed to Barrett that Andrews would be in the hotel, informed Barrett which room she would be staying in, and allowed him to stay in the room next door to hers, all without her knowledge or consent.

According to the court documents, Andrews has alleged experiencing significant trauma in response to the incredibly creepy and abusive incident. This includes “severe and permanent emotional distress, embarrassment, past and future medical expenses, and has incurred expenses and damages relating to the unauthorized use of her image and likeness.”

Defense attorneys, according to The Smoking Gun, argued that Andrews’ claims were “unreasonably vague and ambiguous” and sought the court order in question, which obliged Andrews to provide a specific damages amount. Both The Smoking Gun and Us Weekly have emphasized the amount of money at stake; however, it’s important to note that in lawsuits like this, lawyers will routinely request an extreme sum with the expectation that it will be drastically reduced.

Former ESPN colleagues Chris Fowler, Craig James, and Jesse Palmer are expected to serve as witnesses, along with Andrews’ former Dancing With the Stars partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. The trial will take place in February 2016, over four years after the lawsuit was filed.