Adults and minors who were trafficked for commercial sex acts or labor at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn in Los Angeles may qualify to file a lawsuit and pursue justice and financial compensation with the help of our experienced, compassionate, trauma-informed, empathetic hotel sex trafficking lawyers.
A federal lawsuit alleges that the Snooty Fox Motor Inn ignored obvious signs of human trafficking and profited from the trafficking by doing so.
Key Takeaways
- A federal lawsuit alleges that the Snooty Fox Motor Inn in Los Angeles, California knowingly profited from the sex trafficking of a minor for years.
- The complaint alleges that hotel staff ignored obvious signs of trafficking, such as heavy foot traffic, cash payments for rooms, and repeated short-term male visitors.
- Survivors who were trafficked at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn during the approximate time period of 2012 through 2018 may qualify to file civil lawsuits against the hotel and its owner.
- Federal trafficking laws let survivors pursue compensation from hotels that financially benefited from trafficking activity that occurred on their property.
Why Sex Trafficking Survivors Trust Our Lawyers
- Many trafficking law firms accept as many cases as they can without considering if they have the manpower to handle them all. However, our responsive legal team is fully staffed in order to provide survivors with 24/7 availability, frequent case updates and reliable communication.
- We have been trusted since 1990 to help trafficking survivors recover justice and compensation.
- Our trafficking lawyers offer free consultations and will charge you no legal fee until we win your case, as our only fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover for you.
- Our high-stakes litigation team has the experience handling large trafficking cases and the comprehensive resources to handle your claim.
- While many trafficking firms are willing to settle cheaply for a quick buck, our trial-ready representation is ready and willing to fight for you in court if a fair settlement cannot be reached.
- We and our legal teams have recovered over $750 million for trafficking victims and other injury victims.
Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. All cases are unique and results depend on cases’ specific facts.
Call our experienced hotel sex trafficking lawyers today for a FREE, confidential consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one was trafficked for commercial sex acts or labor at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn in Los Angeles.
Table of Contents
- What Is the Snooty Fox Motor Inn Sex Trafficking Lawsuit?
- Who May Qualify to File a Snooty Fox Sex Trafficking Lawsuit?
- Who Owned and Operated the Snooty Fox Motor Inn?
- What Did the Lawsuit Allege Happened at the Snooty Fox?
- Did the Hotel Know Trafficking Was Happening?
- What Laws Allow Survivors to Sue a Hotel for Sex Trafficking?
- What Damages Can Trafficking Survivors Recover?
- Contact Our Los Angeles Sex Trafficking Attorneys Today
- FAQs
What Is the Snooty Fox Motor Inn Sex Trafficking Lawsuit?
A federal civil lawsuit filed May 13, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio alleges that Pine Tree Industrial Corporation facilitated sex trafficking of an anonymous plaintiff, identified only as S.T.R., at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn in Los Angeles, California when the plaintiff was just 14 years old.
The lawsuit was filed under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (18 U.S.C. § 1595) and Child Abuse Victims Rights Act of 1985 (18 U.S.C. § 2255). The acts created civil liability for third parties who knowingly benefit from trafficking.
Who May Qualify to File a Snooty Fox Sex Trafficking Lawsuit?
You may qualify to file a lawsuit if you were trafficked at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn at 4120 S. Western Ave. in Los Angeles, California during the approximate time period of 2012 through 2018.
Individuals who were minors when they were trafficked may have additional claims under the Child Abuse Victims Rights Act of 1985.
Survivors trafficked at other budget motels in the South Central area of Los Angeles during this time period may also qualify to file lawsuits.
Survivors may file lawsuits anonymously to protect their privacy and safety.
Who Owned and Operated the Snooty Fox Motor Inn?
Pine Tree Industrial Corporation, a California corporation, owned and operated the Snooty Fox Motor Inn.
The property is a budget motel located blocks from the Figueroa Corridor, an approximately 50-block stretch of Figueroa Street long known as one of the United States’ most active sex trafficking corridors.
The area has been historically associated with street-level commercial sex activity and heightened law enforcement attention to trafficking.
What Did the Lawsuit Allege Happened at the Snooty Fox?
The federal lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff was trafficked as a minor at the hotel repeatedly for about three years, starting around 2012.
The lawsuit claims her trafficker rented rooms using cash while she occupied the room dressed in a manner consistent with solicitation.
It is alleged that as many as ten male buyers cycled through her room per day, each spending 15 to 20 minutes in the room.
Buyers allegedly arrived at all hours. The foot traffic was allegedly openly visible to hotel staff.
The hotel allegedly offered hourly room rates, operating in a manner the lawsuit describes as a “no tell” motel.
The plaintiff’s trafficker was allegedly allowed to rent rooms without having to show ID.
The trafficker allegedly surveilled the plaintiff’s room from his car.
The hotel’s online reviews, dating as far back as 2016, suggest that the property was used for commercial sex.
Did the Hotel Know Trafficking Was Happening?
The federal lawsuit alleges that the hotel had actual and constructive knowledge of trafficking.
The complaint claims that the trafficker was explicitly charged a higher room rate by the front desk staff because they knew he was trafficking. This allegation, if proven, would establish that hotel employees directly acknowledged criminal activity.
Red flags that the staff allegedly observed included:
- Cash-only room payments
- A visibly undeveloped teenage girl wearing revealing clothing accompanied by an adult male in a vehicle consistent with trafficking stereotypes
- Large numbers of unregistered male visitors entering and exiting the room at short intervals
- Extended occupancy without legitimate indicators of travel
These are some of the most consistently documented signs of hotel-based sex trafficking, according to the Institute to Combat Trafficking.
Hotel staff allegedly observed these signs, yet took no action to alert law enforcement or refuse service.
What Laws Allow Survivors to Sue a Hotel for Sex Trafficking?
The Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) allows trafficking victims to file civil lawsuits against those who financially benefit from participating in a venture they know or should know involves trafficking.
It does not require hotels to have directly participated in trafficking. It requires proof that defendants benefited financially, participated in a venture, and had actual or constructive knowledge of trafficking.
The Child Abuse Victims Rights Act of 1985 provides additional civil remedies for minor victims of federal child exploitation offenses, including 18 U.S.C. § 1591.
Lawsuits can be filed under the cause of action of negligence, as hotels owe a duty of care to guests and invitees. A failure to act on known signs of trafficking can be considered negligence under California law.
Civil lawsuits proceed independently of any criminal prosecution against hotels or traffickers.
What Damages Can Trafficking Survivors Recover?
The values of settlements and verdicts in TVPRA civil cases have ranged from tens of thousands of dollars to several million dollars, depending on the circumstances involved.
The value of a trafficking lawsuit depends on available documentation, the severity of physical and psychological injury, and the degree of the hotel’s involvement.
Compensation may be available for:
Medical Bills
Past and future medical expenses related to physical injuries, including compensation for things such as doctor visits, ER visits, hospital stays, medical treatments, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, physical therapy and more.
Mental Healthcare Costs
The costs to treat psychological and emotional injuries such as anxiety, depression or PTSD.
Lost Wages
Wages survivors are unable to earn due to trafficking or trafficking-related physical, psychological or emotional injuries.
Loss of Earning Capacity
Loss or reduction of earning capacity due to a disability caused by trafficking.
Pain and Suffering
Emotional distress, physical pain and mental suffering caused by trafficking.
Wrongful Death
Families of loved ones who passed due to trafficking can seek compensation for:
- Burial and funeral costs
- Medical bills incurred by loved ones before passing
- Pain and suffering endured by loved ones before passing
- The loss of their loved ones’ spousal benefits, household services, companionship, love and income
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages punish wrongdoers for wanton, willful, intentional or reckless conduct, like hotels doing nothing about trafficking despite knowing about it.
Contact Our Los Angeles Sex Trafficking Attorneys Today
Call us today for a FREE, confidential consultation at (800) 718-4658 or contact us if you or a loved one was trafficked for commercial sex acts or labor at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn in Los Angeles.
Our empathetic, trauma-informed team can help you recover justice and compensation and will charge you no fee until we win your case.
Call us today.
FAQs
Can I Sue the Snooty Fox Motor Inn If I Was Trafficked There?
Yes, you can sue the Snooty Fox Motor Inn if you were trafficked there and the hotel knew or should have known about the trafficking.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) created civil liability for hotels that financially benefit from trafficking on their premises.
An attorney can evaluate if your situation’s facts support a claim.
Can I File a Claim Anonymously?
Yes. Courts have repeatedly allowed survivors of trafficking to proceed anonymously when not doing so would create concerns of stigma, fear or safety.
The plaintiff in the current federal lawsuit against the Snooty Fox is proceeding anonymously.
Is There a Deadline to File a Sex Trafficking Civil Lawsuit?
There may be a deadline for you to file a lawsuit if you were trafficked at the Snooty Fox Motor Inn.
Trafficking survivors who were adults when the trafficking happened typically have 10 years from the last incident of trafficking to sue.
Survivors who were minors when they were trafficked do not have a time limit to file a lawsuit as long as they were under age 28 when the Eliminating Limits to Justice for Child Sex Abuse Victims Act of 2022 passed.
Claims that were expired prior to that law being passed are still barred.
If your sex trafficking claim has expired under the statute of limitations, you could still qualify to file a sexual abuse lawsuit in California.
If you were abused as an adult, you can file a lawsuit up to ten years after your abuse, or within three years of discovering an injury or illness was caused by your abuse, whichever comes later.
If you were abused as a child, you have no time limit to file a lawsuit if your abuse occurred after or on January 1, 2024.
If your abuse as a child occurred prior to January 1, 2024, you can file a lawsuit until age 40 or within five years of discovering that the abuse caused psychological harm, whichever comes later.
