UPDATE:

• October 2020: Hotel parent companies involved in this lawsuit (Choice Hotels International Inc., Microtel Inns and Suites Franchising Inc., and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc.) asked the 11th Circuit in October 2020 to toss the appeal filed by sex trafficking victims who allege that the companies allowed them to be trafficked on their hotel properties.
• Feb. 3, 2021: Judge William M. Ray, II granted a motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s Georgia RICO and negligence claims against HSI Chamblee, but denied motions to dismiss other claims against HSI Chamblee and fully denied the motions to dismiss entered by other defendants, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) claims.
• Current Status: Most of the plaintiff’s claims still stand, and the lawsuit will continue forward.

A woman referred to anonymously as Jane Doe 1 filed a sex trafficking lawsuit against a number of defendants, including several major hotels, alleging that the hotels knowingly allowed sex trafficking to take place on their property. This allowed her own trafficking in the Atlanta area at various hotels between 2011 and 2016, she says, when she was forced by traffickers to engage in commercial sex with buyers.

According to her initial complaint, she “…was forced to engage in commercial sex acts at defendants’ hotels by various sex traffickers after being advertised [online].” Her lawsuit adds, “Plaintiff suffered violent beatings, controlled and forced drug use, manipulation, threats, fraud, and coercion. … Plaintiff was bought and sold for drugs and money and her ‘ownership’ was transferred between different traffickers in Atlanta.”

The sex trafficking lawsuit named Choice Hotels International Inc., Microtel Inn & Suites Franchising Inc., and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. as defendants where this trafficking allegedly took place.

These three hotels, along with La Quinta Worldwide LLC., Hilton Franchise Holdings LLC, and others, filed motions to dismiss, and Georgia federal judge William M. Ray II granted those motions to dismiss on April 13.

Fighting Back Against Dismissal

Jane Doe 1 is fighting back against the judge’s order, telling Judge Ray that Choice, Microtel, and Wyndham are also named as hotel defendants in three similar lawsuits filed by “Jane Doe” sex trafficking survivors. The judge’s motion to dismiss should be reversed, Jane Doe 1 argued, because the defendants—29 named in the initial sex trafficking lawsuit, though she’s planning to trim it to 19—violated the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act.

In his order granting the hotels’ motions to dismiss the lawsuit, she says, the judge misinterpreted the Act by finding that the act requires her to claim that each of the named hotel defendants were involved “personally and individually” with her trafficking.

The judge’s order did not dismiss all defendants in the suit—those related to the Red Roof Inn Atlanta – Smyrna/Ballpark, where Jane Doe 1’s trafficking allegedly took place, were not dismissed.

Jane Doe 1’s amended complaint also notes that there is urgency to her case created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, because the coronavirus has severely affected the hospitality industry, the plaintiff has concerns that recovering compensation from hotels may be difficult if action is not taken quickly.

“The emergence of COVID-19 has drastically disrupted the hotel industry and these defendants’ operations,” said Jane Doe 1 in the amended complaint. “It is not hyperbolic to say that the continued viability of these business entities is at risk. Further delay in reviewing these issues could be detrimental to plaintiff’s ability to recover from these defendants.”

Filing a Sex Trafficking Lawsuit

Sex trafficking has long been a serious and widespread issue all over the world, including in the United States, and continues today.

Millions of people, primarily women and girls, are forced into prostitution every year. Estimates from 2019 noted more than 4 million victims of sex trafficking globally, 1 million of which are children.

More and more survivors of human trafficking are now turning to litigation, filing lawsuits against organizations or companies that may have facilitated their trafficking, such as hotels, truck stops, massage parlors and more.

If you are a survivor of human trafficking, you may be able to file a civil lawsuit and pursue compensation. Of course, filing a lawsuit cannot take away the pain and suffering caused by human trafficking, but it can at least offer some kind of compensation, as well as hold those responsible for your suffering and emotional distress accountable for their actions and inactions.

Filing a lawsuit can be a daunting prospect, especially for regarding something as traumatic as human trafficking, so Top Class Actions has laid the groundwork for you by connecting you with an experienced attorney. Consulting an attorney can help you determine if you have a claim, navigate the complexities of litigation, and maximize your potential compensation.

The Hotel Sex Trafficking Lawsuit is Jane Doe 1 v. Red Roof Inns, Inc., et al., Case No. 1:19-cv-03840-WMR, in the U.S. District Court for the Atlanta Division of the Northern District of Georgia.

If you were a victim of sex trafficking and forced to work at a truck stop, hotel or motel, night club or other hotel venue, you may be eligible to move forward with a civil investigation against these businesses. This investigation involves a civil case, and is not a criminal case against you or your loved ones.

Top Class Actions is working with experienced human trafficking attorneys who will be informed and sensitive to your situation. Join the fight by filling out the short form on this page. 

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