The hotel groups have said in court filings they do not knowingly allow sex trafficking in their hotels, which they have taken more steps in recent years to prevent, and are not liable. Plaintiffs say staff ignored red flags, such as the frequent coming and going of “Johns” into their hotel rooms or that the sex-trafficked plaintiffs were made to walk the streets around the hotels and bring buyers back, according to court documents. In the lawsuits, Babin has argued hotel staff at budget and luxury brands have ignored the obvious signs of and solutions to human trafficking "out of an unfettered fealty to their profit margins and a corresponding complete disregard for the value of human life." Go deeper: Will major legal fight to hold hotels responsible for sex trafficking be held in Columbus? However, Marbley did transfer five cases to the Northern District of Ohio and one case to the Eastern District of New York. In his ruling Tuesday, Marbley said it is in the interest of justice to allow most of these cases to proceed in a court where a judge is well-versed in the applicable law, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. "Defendant hotels want to isolate survivors of trafficking in courts where they may be the first human trafficking survivors to bring a case against hotels," Babin previously countered.
They said the cases should each be filed and decided in courts closer to where the alleged trafficking took place and where witnesses are more easily accessible. It makes sense as the logical venue choice for these cases."Īttorneys for several hotel groups had argued during a hearing last month that the federal court in Columbus is not the proper venue for these cases. "Ohio is the fourth-largest state for human trafficking, and it's the epicenter of the trafficking epidemic in our country. "This is a very big deal," Babin told The Dispatch. Marbley agreed to allow most of the 35 civil lawsuits involving hotels not located in the Southern District of Ohio to stay in the Columbus court.Ĭolumbus attorney Steven Babin, who filed many of those lawsuits, said he represents more than 1,000 survivors of sex trafficking across all 50 states who were waiting for the judge to give them the green light to file here. District Courthouse in Columbus.Ĭhief U.S.
Now what? Legally, you are not liable for the acts or omissions of your independent contractors.
Inside ASTA's executive committee leadership transition Taking a look at the Society's accomplishments under Marc Casto and at future endeavors with incoming chair Jackie Friedman.War + inflation + airline meltdowns = record demand Almost every condition that has derailed travel in the past is present, yet travel is booming.
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