Back in 2011, sports analyst Erin Andrews filed a lawsuit seeking $75 million in damages from a Marriott hotel in Nashville after they allegedly told her stalker that she was staying at the hotel, and gave him a room right next to hers. As a result, Andrews’ stalker video taped her naked and the footage leaked on the internet. Both Marriott and the stalker, Michael Barrett, were defendants in the case. You can read up on that HERE.
The case went to trial in February and after an emotional few days, the judge ruled in Erin Andrews’ favor. Andrews was awarded a judgement of $55 million. Her stalker is responsible for $28 million, and Marriott $27 million.
Huge problem for Andrews, though. Her stalker obviously doesn’t have that kind of money, so she will likely not see a dime of the $28 million he owes her. It gets worse, too. Marriott is expected to appeal, which could possibly end with a lower settlement since there was no physical injury, just emotional distress, an appeals court could think the original judgement was excessive. If Andrews is smart, she would go with a settlement, something along the lines of $20 million. Then you must factor in attorney fees.
It’s typical for lawyers to get around 40% of the judgement, so if Andrews settles for $20 million, her lawyers could walk away with about $8 million of that. That leaves her with $12 million, deducting the $1 million cost of preparing the case, it’s $11 million.
Lastly, there’s Uncle Sam. In cases where someone wins an award for emotional distress without any physical injuries, the award is taxable. This takes Erin Andrews’ award from $11 million, to more like $6 million.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you go from $55 million to $6 million in 2 minutes or less.
This is all speculation, however. Maybe Marriott doesn’t appeal, and in Erin’s case if they do, they lose.
Source: TMZ
