DALLAS — A federal judge on Friday ordered Marriott to respond to Michael Irvin’s request for various materials and information, including surveillance video, in the former Cowboys wide receiver’s $100 million defamation lawsuit against the hotel chain, but the development likely won’t deliver directly what Irvin seeks.
Marriott has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to respond to a request for “any and all video recordings, written reports, and/or witness statements gathered that pertain to Michael Irvin’s stay at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel in February 2023,” according to court documents filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
The order from District Judge Amos Mazzant III is not to be mistaken as a deadline for Marriott to share those items.
Last week, as part of a broader wish list, Irvin filed a motion in a Collin County court for the same recordings, reports and statements. That judge similarly ordered Marriott to respond within days. Shortly before the deadline, Marriott did so with a 10-page objection while, in a separate filing, having the lawsuit removed to federal court.
When the same items requested now in the Eastern District were requested in Collin County, Marriott contended the request was “overly broad and unduly burdensome,” among other issues it cited in a document The Dallas Morning News obtained.
“Defendant further objects to this Request to the extent it seeks information protected from discovery under the attorney-client privilege or the work product doctrine,” Marriott added. “Respondent will not produce such information.”
NFL Network suspended Irvin from its Super Bowl-week coverage, and ESPN soon followed suit, following a Feb. 5 incident involving Irvin and a female hotel staffer in Phoenix. Irvin told The News that he had a conversation with the woman in the hotel lobby. In phone interviews, three witnesses sided with Irvin’s version of events, telling The News they did not notice anything unusual or unpleasant in an interaction that lasted less than a minute.
The exact nature of the woman’s complaint is not known. Marriott has declined to comment. Days after the encounter between Irvin and the woman, a Phoenix police spokesperson told The News that police had no record of any criminal complaint involving Irvin.
Irvin said that he shook her hand and walked alone to his room. In his lawsuit’s original petition, Irvin detailed that hotel security woke him up the next morning. He was not only escorted off the Renaissance grounds but banned from all Marriott properties.
In addition, Irvin’s lawsuit said, at least one Marriott employee shared with the NFL a narrative of the events in an attempt to “cancel” Irvin.
“To this day, … Irvin still does not know the who, what, when, or where of the allegations levied against him,” Irvin’s attorney Levi McCathern wrote Wednesday in his motion requesting the aforementioned materials.
If Marriott denies or does not respond to the motion by Tuesday, Mazzant said in his Friday order he will “take up the merits of the motion” himself. That represents a likelier path Irvin and his legal team have to the evidence discovery they desire.
