Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard and the $24 Million Trafficking Settlement: What Philadelphia Survivors Need to Know
If you are reading this at 2 a.m., we want you to know one thing first: what happened to you is not your fault, and the law has changed in ways that may matter for you even years later. The case at the Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard — where eight women, four of them children when it began, were trafficked over a span of years in rooms rented for days and weeks at a time — produced one of the largest civil trafficking settlements in Pennsylvania history. The motel agreed to pay $24 million. The traffickers and a security guard who took bribes to look the other way went to federal prison. That outcome is not a fluke. It is the result of a federal civil rights statute that exists for exactly this purpose, applied to a corporate defendant that had the resources to pay and the culpability to owe.
We represent people who have been trafficked, and people who have been hurt by businesses that profited from their exploitation. This page explains, in plain language, what the Philadelphia case teaches, what federal and Pennsylvania law say, what the motel and its insurers do to fight these cases, what evidence exists and how fast it disappears, and what you can do today if a Days Inn — or any other Philadelphia motel — has something to answer for.
What Happened at the Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard
A federal investigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that a ring of traffickers forced young women and girls — some as young as 14 — into commercial sex at a North East Philadelphia motel on the Roosevelt Boulevard corridor. The rooms were rented for days and weeks at a time. The trafficker paying for the rooms used cash, refused housekeeping, and moved women through with a regularity that any trained front-desk worker would have noticed. The motel had a security guard on duty. That guard — Adrian Palmer, a hotel security employee — was paid by the traffickers to provide protection and to look away. He was convicted in federal court, along with three of the traffickers, for sex trafficking and related offenses.
The civil case that followed did not depend on proving the motel had a hand in the trafficking itself. It depended on proving that the motel took money from a venture it knew, or should have known, was being used to traffic women and children. The $24 million settlement — paid to eight survivors — reflects what juries and defendants in this kind of case have come to recognize: a hotel that rents rooms to a known trafficker, with cash, week after week, while staff see a parade of different men and never see the same woman more than once, is not a bystander. It is a business partner in the operation.
The Federal Law That Made the Case Possible: 18 U.S.C. § 1595
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act created a private civil cause of action against anyone who “knowingly benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in a venture which that person knew or should have known has engaged in an act in violation of this chapter.” The statute lives at 18 U.S.C. § 1595(a). It lets a trafficking survivor sue not only the trafficker, but also any business that pocketed money from the operation while the warning signs were screaming. The word the statute uses is “venture,” and the law defines it broadly — any group of two or more people working together in fact, whether or not they form a legal entity. A motel front desk, a security guard, and a trafficker working the same property over months qualifies.
“An individual who is a victim of a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action against the perpetrator (or whoever knowingly benefits, or attempts or conspires to benefit, financially or by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture which that person knew or should have known has engaged in an act in violation of this chapter) in an appropriate district court of the United States and may recover damages and reasonable attorneys fees.”
— 18 U.S.C. § 1595(a)
This is the federal hook that turned a criminal case into a $24 million civil recovery. The same statute limits how long survivors have to file — and it gives survivors a longer window than almost any other civil case in America.
The Clock: 10 Years — And Longer If You Were a Child When It Happened
The federal civil trafficking statute of limitations lives at 18 U.S.C. § 1595(c). It gives a survivor ten years from the cause of action, or ten years from the victim’s 18th birthday if the victim was a minor at the time. A woman who was trafficked at 14 has until her 28th birthday to file a federal trafficking case. That is a longer window than Pennsylvania’s general personal-injury statute of limitations, and it is one of the most plaintiff-protective clocks in American civil law.
“No action may be maintained under subsection (a) unless it is commenced not later than the later of — (1) 10 years after the cause of action arose; or (2) 10 years after the victim reaches 18 years of age, if the victim was a minor at the time of the alleged offense.”
— 18 U.S.C. § 1595(c)
Pennsylvania law layers on additional protection. Pennsylvania’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of injury, but Pennsylvania has recognized the unfairness of that rule for victims of childhood sexual abuse. Under Pennsylvania’s child sexual abuse civil remedy, victims whose claims would otherwise be time-barred have additional time to file, with the limitations period extending for decades past age 18 in many circumstances. The federal TVPRA case and the Pennsylvania state-law case (typically brought as negligent security, premises liability, and civil conspiracy against the property owner and its agents) can run side by side. We handle both.
The clock is long, but the evidence is not. We discuss that below.
The Hotel Behind the Days Inn Sign: Who Is Actually Liable
The Days Inn sign is owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The franchisor and the franchisee are different companies. The franchisee that operated the Roosevelt Boulevard property — the LLC that hired the front desk, paid the security guard, signed the leases, and took the room revenue — is the direct defendant. The franchisor — the company that licenses the name, sets the brand standards, and collects franchise fees — is often pulled into the case as well, because the franchisee is typically a thin LLC set up precisely so that when something goes wrong, there is no money behind it. The brand is where the money is. Federal courts in several jurisdictions have ruled that franchisors can face § 1595 liability when the right facts are pleaded — that the brand’s own control over how a property is run, and the brand’s own share of the room revenue, can make the brand a knowing participant in a venture.
We name the right corporate defendant in the caption. Naming the local franchisee LLC and missing the brand is one of the most common reasons a trafficking case collapses. Naming the brand without the right agency and control facts can draw a motion to dismiss. The case has to be built from the first filing to walk through both doors.
What Pennsylvania Law Adds to a Federal Trafficking Case
Pennsylvania’s human trafficking statutes make trafficking in individuals and patronizing a victim of sexual servitude state crimes, and they create tools that complement the federal civil remedy. Pennsylvania law also gives survivors the right to bring civil claims against businesses whose negligence made the trafficking possible — typical theories in a case like the Days Inn include negligent security, negligent hiring and supervision of the security guard, premises liability, and civil conspiracy. These state-law claims are the ones that reach the property owner, the management company, and the security company directly, and that allow full tort damages for the survivor — pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and the lifelong cost of therapy, medical care, and lost earnings.
The criminal convictions in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against the traffickers and the security guard matter in the civil case for a specific reason: they make the motel much harder to defend. A motel that tries to claim it had no idea what was happening in its own rooms has to answer for a security guard who was convicted of taking money to allow it.
The Evidence That Wins the Case, and How Fast It Disappears
Trafficking cases rise and fall on records a hotel creates every day. None of these records last forever. The single most important job we do in the first week after a survivor calls us is send preservation letters to the property, the franchisor, the management company, the security company, the third-party vendors, and the police department. If we do not freeze these records in writing, the case dies on a clock we did not start.
Here is what exists, who holds it, and how fast it can vanish:
Hotel guest folios and reservation records. The property management system stores who paid for which room, on which dates, and with what form of payment. Cash payments, declined credit cards, third-party payers, and no-ID check-ins all create a pattern. Retention is governed by brand policy and state record law, not federal statute — typically a few years, but it can be shorter for older systems. The pattern of cash-by-the-night, same-room, same-payer, different occupants is the exact evidence that wins a “should have known” case. We demand it the day we are retained.
Key-card swipe logs. Every time a key card opens a room door, the system logs it. A room that gets opened 30 times in a night by a different card each time tells the story of a trafficking operation. These logs are kept on the property management server and on the key-card vendor’s cloud. They are routinely overwritten on a short cycle. The fastest-dying record in a hotel case.
Surveillance video. The lobby, the elevator, the hallway, the parking lot. Many motels overwrite on a rolling 30-day loop. Some have a 7-day loop. The video of the same man paying cash at the front desk, week after week, with a procession of different young women who never come to the desk, is the case. Once that tape is overwritten, it is gone. The preservation letter has to go out immediately.
Housekeeping and maintenance logs. Housekeeping refusals — a do-not-disturb sign up for days, no request for fresh linens, no cleaning — corroborate the cash pattern. Maintenance calls to a particular room corroborate the activity. Retention is short.
Employee records and training records. The security guard’s training file, his prior employment checks, his disciplinary history, and the brand’s policy on human-trafficking training all matter. The brand’s own internal training materials and brand-standards manuals matter too — they show what the brand required its franchisees to do (or not do) about trafficking. The brand’s manuals are kept in the brand’s files indefinitely, but the property’s employee files are governed by short retention.
Phone records and electronic communications. Between the trafficker and the security guard, between the trafficker and the front desk, between the front desk and the brand’s regional managers. Retention varies, but text messages and ephemeral messaging apps can be gone in days absent a hold.
Police call-for-service and incident reports. Prior calls to the property about drug activity, prostitution, disturbances, or assaults are public records. They establish that the motel was on notice that something was wrong. They can be obtained through Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law or through direct request to the Philadelphia Police Department.
NCMEC CyberTipline reports and platform records. If the trafficking involved online solicitation or advertising, federal law requires platforms to report apparent child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and to preserve the report contents for one year. The REPORT Act of 2024 raised that preservation floor to one year. These records are the most perishable of all, but the one-year window still means they can be alive when a case is filed.
The preservation letter we send in week one names every one of these by category and demands the freeze. If the hotel, the brand, or the security company destroys records after that letter, the law lets a jury be told to assume the records would have helped the survivor.
The Insurance Industry Playbook: How They Try to Kill These Cases
The Days Inn’s commercial general liability insurer — and the security company’s insurer — will be the practical defendants in the case, because the local operating LLC is often structured to be judgment-proof. The insurer deploys a specific playbook, in a specific order, and knowing the playbook is the only way to beat it.
Play one: “The motel had no knowledge of trafficking.” The insurance carrier will produce the brand’s anti-trafficking training materials and point to the front desk training as proof the company had zero tolerance. The training materials are not the evidence — the cash folio, the key-card log, and the housekeeping log are the evidence. We respond by showing the pattern the front desk was trained to recognize and the failure to act on it.
Play two: “Exclusion for assault and battery.” Most CGL policies contain an exclusion for bodily injury arising from assault and battery. The carrier will argue that trafficking is an intentional act by the trafficker and is therefore not covered. The response is the negligent-security theory — the insurer must defend and indemnify the motel for its own negligent failure to provide reasonable security, regardless of whether the underlying harm was an intentional act by a third party. Cases in Pennsylvania and around the country have repeatedly required CGL carriers to indemnify motel owners for negligent-security claims arising from crimes by third parties.
Play three: “The trafficker, not the motel, caused the harm.” This is the proximate-cause argument. The motel’s insurance carrier will argue that the motel merely rented rooms and that the harm was caused entirely by the criminal conduct of the trafficker. The federal TVPRA directly addresses this by making the motel liable for knowingly benefiting from a venture that engaged in trafficking. The cash pattern, the key-card log, and the security guard’s bribery conviction all rebut the proximate-cause argument.
Play four: “The survivor didn’t report sooner.” The carrier will argue that the survivor’s failure to report the trafficking immediately, or to seek treatment immediately, broke the chain of causation or mitigated damages. Pennsylvania’s child sexual abuse statute of limitations directly addresses the unfairness of punishing survivors for not coming forward, and a survivor’s delay in disclosure is a normal response to trauma, not a reason to reduce damages. We work with treating clinicians who can explain exactly why disclosure is delayed in trafficking cases and why that delay is the rule, not the exception.
Play five: “Quick settlement before the survivor sees a doctor.” This is the standard insurance playbook across every case type — offer a lowball settlement within weeks of the incident, before the survivor’s medical treatment, psychological diagnosis, and earning-capacity loss are documented. The TVPRA gives survivors up to a decade to file, and the right time to settle is when the full extent of the harm is known, not when the insurance company is trying to close its file.
The Damages: What a Philadelphia Trafficking Case Is Worth
A civil trafficking case can recover every category of damages a personal-injury case can recover, plus the federal statutory recovery that the TVPRA authorizes. The categories we build:
Past and future medical care. Trauma therapy, PTSD treatment, treatment for injuries sustained during trafficking, reproductive healthcare, treatment for substance use disorder that developed in connection with the trafficking, and ongoing psychiatric care for the rest of the survivor’s life.
Past and future lost wages and lost earning capacity. Many trafficking survivors lose years of education and work. A forensic economist projects lost earnings over the survivor’s worklife expectancy, using the same methodology used in any catastrophic personal-injury case, discounted to present value.
Pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. The trauma of trafficking is among the most severe psychological injuries known. Pennsylvania law permits full compensation for these losses. The federal TVPRA does not cap them.
Punitive damages. Where the motel or its agents acted with conscious disregard of a substantial risk — for example, continuing to rent rooms to a known trafficker after repeated red flags, or employing a security guard who was already on notice — punitive damages are available to punish the misconduct and deter repetition.
Attorney fees. The TVPRA authorizes the recovery of reasonable attorney fees, which is why our firm can take these cases on a contingency basis. Survivors pay nothing up front and owe nothing if they do not win.
The $24 million settlement in the Philadelphia Days Inn case divided among eight survivors, with a punitive component, reflects the seriousness of the conduct. Each survivor’s individual case value depends on the facts. Some cases are worth more, some less, depending on the duration of the trafficking, the severity of the physical and psychological harm, the age of the survivor, the evidence of the motel’s knowledge, and the financial resources of the defendant.
What We Do for Survivors
When a survivor or a family member contacts us about a Philadelphia-area motel — whether the Days Inn on Roosevelt Boulevard, another Days Inn, a Super 8, a Red Roof, a Motel 6, a Quality Inn, an independent property, or any other lodging — we do the following.
We listen. We do not push. We do not make promises about case value. We explain the federal and Pennsylvania law in plain language. We send the preservation letters the same week. We coordinate with local law enforcement and federal investigators if a criminal case is already open. We bring in the right experts — trauma clinicians, forensic accountants, hospitality industry consultants, former law enforcement, digital forensic specialists — to build the case. We advance the costs of litigation. We do not charge a fee unless we recover for the survivor.
Why This Case Matters Beyond the Eight Survivors
The Philadelphia Days Inn settlement is one of the first major civil trafficking settlements against a franchised motel in the country, and it is one of the largest. The implications stretch across the hospitality industry. Franchisors are rewriting their anti-trafficking training programs. Franchise agreements are being renegotiated to require specific trafficking-awareness training. Insurance carriers are beginning to recognize that the negligent-security and TVPRA exposure of a franchised property is no longer theoretical. The hotels on Roosevelt Boulevard and across the Philadelphia region are on notice: cash, weekly stays, a parade of different men, a girl who never comes to the desk, a security guard who knows the operation — these are the warning signs the law says a hotel must recognize and act on.
The case is also a proof of concept for survivors across the country. The federal TVPRA was designed to give victims of trafficking a civil remedy against the people who profited from their abuse. The Philadelphia Days Inn case shows that remedy works, even when the defendant is a national brand with the best defense lawyers money can buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
I was trafficked at a Philadelphia motel years ago. Is it too late to sue?
Probably not. Under federal law (18 U.S.C. § 1595(c)), you have ten years from the cause of action, or ten years from your 18th birthday if you were a minor at the time. Pennsylvania law also provides extended limitations periods for survivors of childhood sexual abuse. The earlier you call, the more evidence we can preserve. Call us today for a free consultation — 1-888-ATTY-911.
I am not sure whether what happened to me was “trafficking.” How do I know?
Trafficking does not require physical force, transportation across state lines, or even the threat of violence. Under federal law, sex trafficking includes any commercial sex act induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or any commercial sex act involving a minor. If someone recruited you, harbored you, or arranged for you to perform sex acts in exchange for something of value, and you were a minor, or you were an adult who was controlled through force, fraud, or coercion, that is trafficking under federal law. We can help you figure out whether your experience qualifies.
I was trafficked at a Days Inn, Super 8, Red Roof, or other branded motel. Can I sue the brand, not just the local property?
Possibly. Federal courts in several jurisdictions have ruled that hotel brands can face liability under the TVPRA when the right facts are pleaded — that the brand’s own operational control over a property, and the brand’s own share of the room revenue, can make the brand a knowing participant in a venture. The pleading has to be careful. We build the agency and control facts into the complaint from the first filing. The local franchisee and the brand are usually both named.
Will I have to go to court? I am afraid of facing the trafficker.
Most of these cases resolve before trial. The Philadelphia Days Inn case settled. The vast majority of TVPRA cases settle. If a trial is necessary, we prepare you for it carefully, and there are procedures in place to protect survivors from confrontation with the trafficker. Your voice can be heard through deposition and declaration, and protective orders can shield your identity.
How long do I have to decide?
Under federal law, you generally have ten years, or until your 28th birthday if you were a minor at the time. Under Pennsylvania law for childhood sexual abuse, the limitations period is longer. The decision does not have to be made today, but the evidence does. The faster we move, the more we can preserve. Call us today at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free consultation. No fee unless we win.
What does it cost to hire your firm?
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee. You pay nothing unless we recover for you. The federal TVPRA also authorizes the recovery of reasonable attorney fees from the defendant, which strengthens our ability to take these cases on a contingency basis. You owe us nothing if we do not win.
What about my immigration status?
Trafficking survivors have legal protections. Federal law provides T-visas and U-visas for victims of trafficking and other qualifying crimes, regardless of immigration status. We can connect you with immigration counsel who handles these matters. Your immigration status is not a barrier to bringing a civil trafficking case.
Will my name be made public?
No, not without your consent. Trafficking cases are routinely filed under pseudonyms (Doe v. Days Inn, for example). The court can issue protective orders sealing identifying information. We will discuss your privacy preferences with you before any filing is made.
What if the trafficker was convicted but the motel wasn’t?
That is exactly the situation in the Philadelphia Days Inn case. The federal criminal convictions of the traffickers and the security guard strengthen the civil case against the motel. The motel does not have to be criminally charged to be civilly liable. The TVPRA targets the business that “knowingly benefits” from the venture — and the benefit to the motel is the room revenue it took in cash, week after week, with eyes wide open.
How do I get started?
Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. The call is free, the consultation is free, and everything you tell us is confidential. We will listen to your story, explain the law, and tell you honestly whether we can help. There is no obligation, and you pay no fee unless we win. Hablamos Español.
Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes. The $24 million Days Inn settlement described above is a public record from the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Every case we accept is evaluated on its own facts, and no outcome can be promised. The information on this page is legal information about federal and Pennsylvania trafficking law, not legal advice for your specific situation. Call us at 1-888-ATTY-911 for a free consultation about what the law can do for you.
If you or someone you care about was trafficked at a Philadelphia motel or anywhere else, we want to hear from you. Our attorneys Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña have spent their careers fighting for people who were failed by the systems meant to protect them. Ralph has been a Texas trial lawyer for more than twenty-seven years, with a background in journalism that taught him how to find the truth and tell it in a courtroom. Lupe spent years on the other side of the table as an insurance defense attorney before switching sides to fight for injured people; he is fluent in Spanish and conducts full client consultations in Spanish without an interpreter. Schedule a free consultation today — no fee unless we win.
To learn more about our firm’s practice areas and how we help survivors of negligent security, wrongful death, and other catastrophic injury cases, explore our about page or contact our team today. Hablamos Español. 1-888-ATTY-911.