--- title: "Sexual Assault Lawsuit Settled for $9.38M After Minor Was Trafficked by Foster Home" meta: "og:description": "A minor settles a sexual assault lawsuit for $9.38M against a child welfare agency that placed her in a foster family that trafficked her." "og:title": "Sexual Assault Lawsuit Settled for $9.38M After Minor Was Trafficked by Foster Home" description: "A minor settles a sexual assault lawsuit for $9.38M against a child welfare agency that placed her in a foster family that trafficked her." --- December 30, 2024 # **Sexual Assault Lawsuit Settled for $9.38M After Minor Was Trafficked by Foster Home** A minor settles a sexual assault lawsuit for $9.38M against a child welfare agency that placed her in a foster family that trafficked her. [**Personal Injury and Torts**](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/jury-verdict/category/personal-injury-and-torts) [**Assault**](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/jury-verdict/category/assault) ### **Outline** Author ![](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/_ipx/q_80/user-default.svg) **Nishica Srivastava** ![Article Image](https://media.jurimatic.com/cdn-cgi/image/q=70/images/default_1.webp) ## D.P. v. Catholic Social Services et al ### Case Background Plaintiff D.P., a minor, filed a sexual [assault](https://jurimatic.com/category/personal-injury-and-torts/assault/) lawsuit after a child welfare agency placed her in a foster house which led to her being sexually violated and trafficked. The case was heard in the [Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas](https://www.courts.phila.gov/). Judge Christopher Hall presided over this lawsuit. [Case number: 220401713] #### Cause In 2009, D.P., a 13-year-old girl, was placed in a foster home in Pennsylvania by a child welfare agency. She claimed that the agency’s placement led to her being trafficked and sexually abused. Plaintiff's counsel declined to name the child welfare agency, though court documents say the claims were against ABS Lincs PA Inc., which does business as First Home Care. D.P. sued the operators of First Home Care, including ABS Lincs PA Inc., ABS Lincs VA Inc., and Universal Health Services Inc. She also sued the operators of a hotel where she was allegedly trafficked. These included 4200 Roosevelt LLC (doing business as Days Inn), 4200 Rose Hospitality LLC (doing business as Days Inn), Days Inns Worldwide Inc., Wyndham Hotel Group LLC, Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (now Wyndham Destinations Inc.), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. D.P. also sued Catholic Social Services. D.P. dropped early claims against Catholic Social Services, and later claims against ABS Lincs VA Inc. and Universal Health Services. The hotel defendants reached a settlement earlier in the case. D.P. argued that First Home Care placed her in a foster home despite clear warning signs, including the foster mother’s son with a criminal record. She alleged that the son groomed her and trafficked her for over two years, taking her from the foster home, sexually assaulting her, and trafficking her at local hotels. #### Injury D.P. claimed traffickers sexually abused her as a teenager. She stated that an assailant assaulted and raped her while she lived in a foster home. The same assailant later trafficked her at a Days Inn in Philadelphia. D.P. argued that her emotional distress resulted from being placed in the foster home with the man who trafficked her and from the abuse she endured. #### **Damages** D.P. sought compensation for the trauma, sexual assault, abuse, and emotional distress she suffered due to the trafficking and sexual abuse. ### Key Arguments and Proceedings #### Legal Representation - **Plaintiff(s):**D.P., a minor - **Counsel for Plaintiff(s):**Nadeem Bezar | Emily Marks | Alex Van Dyke - **Defendant(s):**ABS Lincs PA Inc. dba First Home Care | ABS Lincs VA Inc. | Universal Health Services Inc. | 4200 Roosevelt LLC (doing business as Days Inn) | 4200 Rose Hospitality LLC (doing business as Days Inn) | Days Inns Worldwide Inc. | Wyndham Hotel Group LLC | Wyndham Worldwide Corp. (now known as Wyndham Destinations Inc.) | Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc. | Catholic Social Services - **Counsel for Defendant(s):**Michael Bootier | Philip Priore #### Claims D.P. claimed that First Home Care was negligent in placing her in a foster home with a dangerous individual, leading to her trafficking and sexual assault. #### Defense The defense argued that First Home Care had no duty to prevent the abuse, as it occurred after D.P. left the foster home. They also claimed the statute of limitations had expired. ### Settlement Two days before jury selection, on October 08, 2024, D.P. settled her case for $9.38 million with parties accused of enabling her abuse. The settlement addressed D.P.'s claims against a child welfare agency that placed her in a foster home with her trafficker. It also resolved her claims against a hotel where she was trafficked. Nadeem Bezar, one of D.P.'s attorneys, chose not to reveal how the settlement funds would be distributed among the defendants. However, he confirmed that the hotel had settled earlier in the case. News reports revealed that the hotel defendants had reached a global settlement with eight plaintiffs in separate lawsuits. These lawsuits accused the hotels of allowing sex trafficking on their properties. The earlier global settlement reportedly helped fund the $9.38 million awarded to D.P. #### Court Documents: Available for purchase upon request [Share with Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home) [Share with X](https://x.com/intent/post?url=https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home&text=x) [Share with LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home) [Share with Email](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/mailto:?body=https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home&subject=email) [Share with WhatsApp](https://api.whatsapp.com/send?text=https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home%20whatsapp) ### **Find your next Expert Witness today** ![Sanjay Adhia](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/_ipx/q_80/user-default.svg) ###### **Sanjay Adhia** Forensic Psychiastry ![George Reis](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/_ipx/q_80/user-default.svg) ###### **George Reis** Forensic Imaging ![Maria Babinetz](https://exlitem.com/jury-verdict/sexual-assault-lawsuit-settled-for-9-38m-after-minor-was-trafficked-by-foster-home/_ipx/q_80/user-default.svg) ###### **Maria Babinetz** Vocational Rehabilitation Find and retain experts without brokerage or upcharge. ### Looking for more? 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