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Erin Andrews awarded $55 million in hotel stalking case

A jury has awarded Erin Andrews $55 million as a result of her lawsuit against a Nashville Marriott and a man who took and posted a video of her.

Andrews was asking for $75 million in her civil suit vs. West End Hotel Partners, which operates the Marriott at Vanderbilt, and Michael David Barrett, who tampered with her hotel room's peephole to record a video of her while she was in her hotel room. Barrett then posted the video online in 2009.

The jury found Barrett 51-percent responsible and the hotel to be 49-percent responsible, meaning Barrett is on the hook for approximately $28 million in damages while the hotel is ordered to pay $26 million.

Barrett was sentenced to 2½ years in prison after he was found guilty of stalking Andrews in the events surrounding the incident. Barrett had reserved the room next to Andrews' and said he found her room through a directory within the house phone at the hotel. He explained his practices in a video played last week during the trial.

Andrews is currently a broadcaster for Fox Sports and co-hosts ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She testified during the civil suit that she feels guilty her current boyfriend, Minnesota Wild hockey player Jarrett Stoll, didn't know her before the incident because of the emotional toll it has taken on her.

"I feel really guilty he didn’t know me before this happened and to try to explain to someone who has questions about why I have trust issues, why I’m insecure, why I’m embarrassed; he doesn’t understand," she said on the stand last week.

According to an ABC News reporter, jurors, which deliberated for approximately seven hours Monday, gave Andrews hugs and asked for autographs after the verdict.

Sportscaster and television host Erin Andrews testifies Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.
Sportscaster and television host Erin Andrews testifies Tuesday, March 1, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn.

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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!