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[LyleLanley]

The jurors took photos with Andrews after the amount was announced, and she signed autographs, according to reports from inside the courtroom.

That seems kind of odd to me.

 

[Randolph Freelander]

That seems kind of odd to me.

It does, though I don't think it's rare in cases involving anyone with a certain amount of celebrity to their name. I don't know how you avoid it in our celebrity-obsessed culture, to be honest. In a way, a perverted kind of this very celebrity adulation is what led to this case in the first place.

 

[Savitar]

Talk about not having someone's back, what's wrong with you ESPN.

 

[RoKKeR]

Welp, I stayed at that hotel.

Time to search the internet for nude videos of myself.

Have stayed there many times in the past. Welp indeed.

 

[LyleLanley]

It does, though I don't think it's rare in cases involving anyone with a certain amount of celebrity to their name. I don't know how you avoid it in our celebrity-obsessed culture, to be honest. In a way, a perverted kind of this very celebrity adulation is what led to this case in the first place.

Oh I have no doubt that this happens all the time in high profile cases involving celebrities but you'd hope that people know when it's an appropriate time and place to ask for autographs and selfies.

 

[Mindlog]

Welp, I stayed at that hotel.

Time to search the internet for nude videos of myself.

Michael David Barrett came up with the idea to tamper with a peephole from a hotel employee – and it is a lot easier than you would think.

In October 2009, less than two months after the secret video was released, Barrett was arrested by the FBI for interstate stalking. Barrett pleaded guilty to the charges in December and was sentenced to 2-1/2 years in prison. It was revealed that Barrett had found out Andrews would be staying at the Nashville Marriott by calling the hotel and simply asking an employee if she had a reservation there. Once he was told yes, he then asked to be placed in the room next to hers. Andrews was never notified that anyone had called with this request. The footage was filmed through her hotel door peephole, and now, the public knows exactly how he pulled that off.

Everyone putting tape over webcams should really be doing it over peepholes. The guy had more videos of other women. Creepy as hell.

 

[Kifimbo]

Glad she won, but for a layman, $55M seems... excessive.

 

[Nemesis121]

I am not shocked, imagine working with this asshole...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TLG_LtWhj4

 

[darkwing-buck]

Disgusting.

 

[Clydefrog]

$55 million for peeping? Holy shit.

I hope she gets the help she now needs after the ordeal but what is $55 million going to do? The guy went to prison. Crazy. Also, fuck ESPN.

 

[qcf x2]

Glad she won, but for a layman, $55M seems... excessive.

Seriously, I wonder how they arrived at that figure? No way her expected earnings were impacted to 1/10th that much. She can start her own sports network and then some with that money.

 

[Random Painted HIghway]

Good for her. Likely reduced, quite a message to the hotel chain.

 

[mcfrank]

Glad she won, but for a layman, $55M seems... excessive.

How so? How much is your privacy worth?

 

[HoodWinked]

Glad she won, but for a layman, $55M seems... excessive.

they come up with this sort of thing by extrapolating her earning potential but its sort of in a weird area because this scandal did have some influence to her career trajectory as bad as it sounds. its also actually half that since its 28M from the stalker which he has no way of paying and 26M from the hotel.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

$55 million for peeping? Holy shit.

I hope she gets the help she now needs after the ordeal but what is $55 million going to do? The guy went to prison. Crazy. Also, fuck ESPN.

It probably won't be from the dude. It'll probably be from the hotel or ESPN.

Though, I also wonder if this will have any implications with the Hogan/Gawker trial since they're very similar in concept.

 

[FStop7]

Has anyone ever come away from ESPN with anything other than bad experiences?

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

i was going to post about how the hotel shouldn't be responsible for the guy doing this but if they knowingly helped him secure a room next to hers and did the other shit then i'm glad they got busted.

beyond that, fuck this scumbag. hope his wages are garnished to shit for the rest of his life to pay the judgement down

 

[Gattsu25]

Wow, that was awfully grimey of ESPN. 'Guilty' even after proven 'innocent'.

I didn't watch the interview with Oprah so how was that? By the clip in the OP it seems like she was supportive...

 

[Kifimbo]

How so? How much is your privacy worth?

I don't know, but Teledyne had to pay $26 million for the deaths of two people. Which is apparently the highest for wrongful deaths.

 

[NYR]

enjoy paying lawyers for appeal. This is why a judge should be determining damages not a bunch of jurors.

No way that was worth $55 mill. OJ civil suit was $33.5 mill and he murdered someone.

 

[mreddie]

Explains why she jumped to FOX after exclusive.

 

[Htown]

Glad she won, but for a layman, $55M seems... excessive.

There is such a thing as punitive damages.

These are based not on the amount of suffering the plaintiff endured, but on the fact that the court wants to punish the defendant in order to deter them from behaving in the same way again.

This is so that, for example, a large corporation actually has incentive to change the behavior or conditions that led to the plaintiff being damaged on a large scale, instead of just paying the smaller cost there would be for whatever the damage was in each individual case.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Doubt she'll see any of it. The guy himself is assuredly judgment proof so 51 percent of that is worth the paper its printed on and this is definitely going up on appeal if they got to court.

There is such a thing as punitive damages.

These are based not on the amount of suffering the plaintiff endured, but on the fact that the court wants to punish the defendant in order to deter them from behaving in the same way again.

This is so that, for example, a large corporation actually has incentive to change the behavior or conditions that led to the plaintiff being damaged on a large scale, instead of just paying the smaller cost there would be for whatever the damage was in each individual case.

Its negligence suit in which case there are no punitives absent gross negligence (which is super hard to prove and putting this guy in a room next to her without informing her isn't gonna be gross negligence - to give an example they'd probably have to straight up know he was a stalker for it to be gross negligence). Damages flow from the fact she's famous.

The specific negligence in question which is why the hotel was found liable is because Barrett called the hotel and asked what room she was in and asked to get the room next to her and they did it.

 

[BronsonLee]

Wouldn't surprise me if she did it just to deter them from trying to pull this shit ever ever ever again

 

[lawnchair]

55 million dollars god DAMN

 

[maabus1999]

55 million dollars god DAMN

She'll be lucky to get a tenth of that in the end. Normal SOP for high profile civil suits. Judges reduce it on appeal.

 

[Htown]

Its negligence suit in which case there are no punitives absent gross negligence (which is super hard to prove and putting this guy in a room next to her without informing her isn't gonna be gross negligence - to give an example they'd probably have to straight up know he was a stalker for it to be gross negligence). Damages flow from the fact she's famous.

Makes sense.

 

[lenovox1]

damn fuck you espn. Oprah sounds so nice though.

Can you imagine how many crying interviewees Oprah's had to literally and figuratively talk from the ledge by that point in her talk show career?

 

[RBelong2Us]

Any average woman wouldn't see anywhere near that. It's excessive and ridiculous amount to come to, but as many have said, she won't see it.