Supreme Court sides with US company in claims over property seized in Cuban revolution

WASHINGTON– The Supreme Court ruled in favor Thursday of the owners of Cuban property confiscated by the government of Fidel Castro more than 65 years ago.

By 8 votes to 1, the judges revived the complaints filed by an American company, Havana Docks, which operated docks in the Cuban capital. The suit targets four cruise lines that brought tourists to Cuba during the brief thaw in relations under the Obama administration.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the court that the federal appeals court in Atlanta erred in rejecting the claims, finding that “the cruise lines used confiscated property for which Havana Docks owns the claim.”

The court’s decision does not constitute a final decision in the lawsuit filed by Havana Docks. But it comes amid increased pressure on Cuba from President Donald Trump’s administration, including Wednesday’s indictment of former Cuban President Raúl Castro for the 1996 shooting down of civilian planes piloted by Miami-based exiles.

The Supreme Court case hinged on a provision of federal law known as Helms-Burton that Congress passed in response to the shootings. Title III of the law allows Americans to sue almost any company that engages in commercial activities or benefits from property confiscated by the Cuban government.

Prior to the first Trump administration, all presidents had suspended this provision due to objections from U.S. allies doing business in Cuba and the implications for future negotiated settlements between the United States and Cuba.

In 2016, President Barack Obama used a joint press conference with Castro to announce that cruise lines could resume services to Cuba. Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises have begun making stops in Havana, allowing cruise lines to take excursions to local nightclubs, monuments, rivers and beaches.

That changed abruptly in 2019, when Trump decided to activate the provision allowing lawsuits and then announced new travel restrictions. Cruise lines hastily abandoned stops in Cuba and rerouted ships en route.

Ruling in the lawsuit filed by Havana Docks, U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami found the cruise lines liable for their use of the Havana terminal that the company once controlled.

Licenses granted by Obama’s Treasury Department to transport U.S. passengers to Cuba did not protect the cruise lines from the lawsuit, Bloom ruled.

She awarded Havana Docks more than $400 million in total. A federal appeals court ruled in favor of the cruise lines, overturning the ruling.

The case now returns to the Court of Appeal. Thomas acknowledged that the cruise lines have additional arguments that have not yet been decided.

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