On March 13, 2025, the owners of a Motel 6, Days Inn, and North American Motor Inn in Philadelphia agreed to pay $17.5 million to three women who were sex trafficked at the hotels.
The plaintiffs, who were between 14 to 17 years old at the time, were trafficked at the hotels between May 2015 and January 2017. The civil lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the three survivors alleged that the hotels were negligent because they did not have proper security to prevent criminal activity on the property and that employees were not adequately trained to identify sex trafficking.
Nadeem Bezar and Emily Marks of Kline & Specter, PC, represented the survivors in this civil case. When asked about the settlement, Attorney Marks stated the following: “Instead of hiring qualified security and adoption and enforcement policies against criminal activity, the hotels did nothing and permitted criminal activity to the detriment of our clients.”
This is another amazing example of the impactful work Kline & Specter does for survivors of sex trafficking. In a previous case in October 2023, Kline & Specter won $37.5 million for three sex trafficking survivors who were also trafficked at North American Motor Inns. In February 2023, Attorney Bezar and Attorney Marks won a $24 million settlement for eight women sex trafficked at the Days Inn. A ring of sex traffickers forced the women, who were minors at the time, to have sex for money at the motel. Most recently, Kline & Specter won $24.5 million for two survivors who were trafficked at the North American Motor Inns in Philadelphia. They were also the first to file a civil suit under the Pennsylvania human trafficking statute which permits survivors to sue hotel managers and owners who allow sexual exploitation to occur on their premises.
The CSE Institute notes that hotels and motels are among the most common venues for facilitating and financially benefitting from sex trafficking. These venues provide both easy entry and financial secrecy for sex buyers. The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act provides means to hold hotels both criminally accountable and civilly liable for sex trafficking. In fact, in 2017, in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, the corporate entity of a hotel was convicted for sex trafficking.
The CSE Institute urges the hospitality industry to take ownership of this problem and confront it with tangible solutions. These solutions could include mandatory trainings for all management and employees to help them recognize the signs of sex trafficking in hotels and what to do if they suspect trafficking. The CSE Institute also urges the industry to stop turning a blind eye to the commercial sexual exploitation happening within their hotels. Instead, hotels and motels should become a leading force in stopping this exploitation altogether. The CSE Institute recognizes the need for legislation that would require these types of trainings, policies, and procedures to be implemented in every hotel and motel across the country.
The CSE Institute applauds the work of the attorneys in this civil matter. Most importantly, the CSE Institute applauds the bravery of the survivors in this case. After all, it is irrefutable that survivor voices will be the force of change in the sex trafficking narrative.
The CSE Institute will continue to provide updates on this matter.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.