COMPLIANCE
Wave of Sex Trafficking Lawsuits Implicates Hospitality Industry By SABRINA ATKINS AND PAMELA LEE
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n 2019 and 2020, victims of alleged sex trafficking filed a flurry of lawsuits against hotel franchisors, franchisees, owners and operators that rocked the hospitality industry. Conceivably generated by the #MeToo movement and high-profile claims against Harvey Weinstein, Jeffrey Epstein and others, cases filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) — primarily in federal court — have skyrocketed. According to the 2019 Federal Human Trafficking Report published by the Human Trafficking Institute, cases increased from just seven suits in 2018 to the initiation in 2019 of 43 lawsuits pending in more than 23 U.S. district courts.
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At the heart of these lawsuits is the allegation that corporations — typically hotels, motels and truck stops, which may unknowingly provide a venue for trafficking crimes — have turned a blind eye to these criminal acts. While the TVPRA’s “perpetrator” subsections are typically reserved for criminal prosecution of the traffickers themselves, victims have brought civil suits against hotel defendants under the less stringent civil remedy subsection, 18 U.S.C. § 1595, taking advantage of the statute’s “knew or should have known” standard. The difficulty facing many businesses is that none of the cases alleging sex trafficking brought against hotel defendants have
concluded, whether by motion or trial, thereby creating a quandary of uncertainty. Quite simply, the jury is out on whether these claims will ultimately succeed. Nonetheless, the trends are clear. Cases are being filed swiftly, and we should assume they will increase.
TAKEAWAYS FROM PENDING CASES While the TVPRA is not a strict liability statute, it remains to be seen how far the federal judiciary will go in awarding relief to plaintiffs. The nature of human trafficking creates a dilemma for hotels and motels seeking to avoid exposure. While most federal courts have declined requests for early BACK TO CONTENTS
