A federal jury in Atlanta rendered a $40M verdict against the owners of the United Inn & Suites in Decatur, Georgia, and in favor of the plaintiff - a woman who was sex trafficked at the hotel when she was a teenager.

The verdict is believed to be the largest of its kind in the United States. The jury found the hotel liable for knowingly allowing sex trafficking to occur on its property. The case centered around events from late 2018 to early 2019, when the plaintiff, then 16, was trafficked at the hotel for approximately 40 days. During this time, she was sold for sex to hundreds of men and endured significant trauma.

Testimony in court revealed that hotel staff members were aware of what was happening but chose not to intervene, and in some instances even profited from the activities.

A night manager at the hotel was said to have facilitated the traffickers by buying drugs from them, helping them switch rooms, and alerting them to potential trouble. The hotel had been the subject of a "be on the lookout" notice from local police but it failed to take action to protect the girl.

Attorneys argued that United Inn & Suites had policies and staff training but that neither were effective or enforced, and that the management prioritized profits over guest safety.

The jury awarded $10M in compensatory damages for the victim's suffering, and $30M in punitive damages to punish the hotel and deter similar conduct in the hospitality industry.

"Those 40 days of trauma will be with her for the rest of her days," said one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, describing the significance of the verdict for both the survivor and others who may have been trafficked under similar circumstances. The plaintiff, now in her 20s, expressed a sense of pride and relief as to the verdict, which her attorneys hope will influence hotel policies and raise industry standards for spotting and preventing trafficking.

Source: https://www.wsbradio.com/news/local/decatur-hotel-ordered-pay-40-million-federal-sex-trafficking-case/KAN5NI7FGJGTXDDBZKZM6U2LPA/

Commentary

By finding a hotel liable for harms caused by sexual trafficking, the jury has expanded the exposure to the hospitality industry for sexual abuse loss.

The legal theory at the center of the case against the Decatur hotel is rooted in federal law, specifically the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), and applies principles of both direct and vicarious liability to entities that knowingly allow or benefit from sex trafficking on their premises.

Under the TVPA, a business - such as a hotel - can be found liable if it either actively participates in trafficking, benefits financially while knowing or recklessly disregarding that trafficking is occurring, or fails to take reasonable steps to prevent it. The law does not require proof that the hotel directly trafficked the victim; it is enough that the business knew or should have known about the illegal activity happening on its property and still benefited from it, often through room rentals or other services.

Common law principles further reinforce this liability by incorporating negligence doctrines. For a hotel or its staff to be held liable, it must be shown that they had either actual knowledge or constructive knowledge (meaning they should have known) of indicators of sex trafficking - such as unusual room traffic, frequent requests for fresh linens, payment in cash, signs of distress in guests, or repeated incidents of criminal activity - and failed to act.

These common law standards are now being recognized and adopted in courts across the United States, allowing similar cases against hotels and other businesses that ignore or turn a blind eye to trafficking activity.

Recent court rulings clarify that hotel franchisors and corporate parents can be held liable and cannot simply push responsibility onto individual franchises or franchisees.

This evolving legal framework has national applicability, particularly as more states pass their own anti-trafficking statutes or incorporate federal standards into state law. Through common law precedent and the TVPA, the legal duty is becoming well established: hospitality businesses across the US have a clear responsibility to detect and prevent trafficking, and organizations ignore this at significant legal and financial risk.

Organizations seeking to prevent liability and, more importantly, combat sex trafficking can take several practical steps.

They should develop and implement comprehensive anti-human trafficking policies and conduct regular staff training to spot and report suspicious behaviors. Protocols should mandate reporting of red flags - such as frequent unregistered visitors, cash payments, guests withholding identification, or evidence of abuse - and require collaboration with local law enforcement and victim service organizations. Enhanced record-keeping, background checks, and regular audits can also help organizations demonstrate proactive, good-faith efforts to identify and prevent trafficking.

The final takeaway is that the legal theory underpinning these cases establishes that both federal and common law impose a duty on organizations to actively prevent and respond to sex trafficking.

Outside Sources: https://traffickinginstitute.org/beyond-hospitality-hotel-liability-for-trafficking/