Judge OK's Subpoena for Erin Andrews Medical Records
A Tennessee judge ruled that Erin Andrews’s “medical records, including mental health information” can be subpoenaed by the hotel chain the sportscaster is suing for invasion of privacy for allowing a peeping Tom to videotape her naked inside a room at a Marriott in Nashville.
In a March 4 order, Circuit Court Judge Hamilton Gayden granted a Marriott motion seeking to obtain Andrews’s medical records in connection with the $10 million lawsuit filed by the 34-year-old Fox Sports personality.
Gayden also permitted Marriott to issue a subpoena for deposition testimony from Loren Comstock, a New York City licensed clinical social worker. Andrews has identified Comstock, 62, as the sole medical care provider who treated her in the wake of the creepy activities of convicted felon Michael David Barrett.
Citing Andrews’s contention that she has “suffered and continues to suffer from… severe and permanent emotional distress” as a result of the peeping Tom incidents (which also occurred at hotels in Wisconsin and Ohio), Marriott argued that the TV star’s medical records are “highly relevant to the issues of Plaintiff’s alleged injuries and damages.” Andrews’s complaint also seeks recovery of “past and future medical expenses.”
Following a court hearing last week, Gayden ruled that the Marriott motion is “well-taken and should be granted.”
In her lawsuit, Andrews accuses the hotel chain of letting Barrett, 51, know which room she was staying in at the West End Marriott near the Vanderbilt University campus. This information, Andrews contends, allowed Barrett to target her room and surreptitiously film her through the door’s peephole. At the time, Andrews was working for ESPN.
Barrett uploaded several explicit videos of Andrews to a web site in 2009, titling the clips “Erin Andrews Spectacular Butt,” “Erin Andrews in a Pink Thong,” and “Erin go WOW!!” Barrett pleaded guilty in 2010 to a felony stalking charge and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison.
Released from custody eight months ago, Barrett is now serving a three-year probation term. He is barred from having any contact with Andrews and/or her friends and family.
Barrett, an Oregon resident, is a defendant in Andrews’s lawsuit and was deposed in late-September. During that session, he repeatedly cited his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when refusing to answer questions. Noting that Barrett was “in the best position to testify about the facts of the case,” Andrews’s lawyer filed a motion seeking a judicial order compelling Barrett to answer all questions during a follow-up deposition.
In a February 27 order, Judge Gayden directed Barrett to appear at a March 21 hearing to “show any cause that you may have as to why you should not be required to appear at another deposition in this cause and respond to all questions.”