{"id":2238,"date":"2026-05-21T20:31:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2238"},"modified":"2026-05-21T20:31:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:31:24","slug":"cruise-giants-could-owe-440m-after-supreme-court-rules-they-used-property-seized-in-cuba-revolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2238","title":{"rendered":"Cruise giants could owe $440M after Supreme Court rules they used property seized in Cuba revolution"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court<\/u> dealt a major blow Thursday to four major cruise lines accused of profiting from Cuban property seized during Fidel Castro\u2019s communist revolution, reviving lawsuits that could cost the companies hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>

Read more America 250: Greyhound launches commemorative buses honoring nation\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a><\/p>

In an 8-1 ruling, the justices sided with Havana Docks Corporation, a U.S. company that operated docks in Havana before the Cuban government<\/u> took the property in 1959.<\/p>

The decision revives more than $440 million in judgments against Carnival, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises for using the Havana port during the Obama-era thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations.<\/p>

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that a lower court wrongly dismissed the claims because the cruise companies “used confiscated property to which Havana Docks owns the claim.”<\/p>

MAJOR CRUISE LINE SUSPENDS CARIBBEAN DESTINATION VISITS AMID KIDNAPPINGS, SAFETY CONCERNS<\/u><\/strong><\/p>

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The “Empress of the Seas”, a Bahamas-flagged vessel owned by the US Royal Caribbean which became the last cruise of a US company to touch the Cuban port following the new US sanctions against the island, leaves from Havana, on June 5, 2019. (Photo by <\/span> <\/p>

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The lawsuits stem from the Helms-Burton Act, a 1996 law allowing Americans to sue companies that profit from property seized by Cuba\u2019s government after the revolution.<\/p>

Justice Elena Kagan \u200bwrote in the dissent that her colleagues had misconstrued the statute’s text, writing that “what Havana Docks owned was only a property interest allowing \u200bit to use those docks \u2060for a specified time.” Kagan wrote that the decision will “allow plaintiffs to recover for trafficking in property that was not theirs.”<\/p>

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\u00a0A panoramic view of the Malecon with the Carnival Paradise parked at the cruise terminal on the far left hand side on June 30, 2017, in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Cliff Welch\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>

Read more Tennessee halts man\u2019s execution after failing to find a vein for injection, attorney says<\/a><\/p> <\/div><\/div>

For years, U.S. presidents suspended the Helms-Burton Act to avoid clashes with allies and businesses operating in Cuba. The cruise lines had resumed stops in Havana in 2016 after President Barack Obama<\/u> reopened travel ties with Cuba.<\/p>

TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME<\/u><\/strong><\/p>

President Donald Trump<\/u> reversed course in 2019, activating the law and tightening pressure on Cuba\u2019s communist regime.<\/p>

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The Norwegian SKY cruise ship docked the last day in Havana on June 4, 2019. Cruise ships will no longer operate to Cuba. Trump administration banned cruises, private yachts and fishing vessels from visiting Cuba,(Photo by Eliana Aponte\/VIEWpress\/Cor<\/span> <\/p>

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A federal judge<\/u> in Miami previously ruled the cruise operators were liable and awarded Havana Docks more than $400 million combined. An appeals court later overturned that ruling before the Supreme Court issued its decision on Thursday.<\/p>

The case now heads back to the lower courts, where the cruise lines are expected to continue fighting the claims.<\/p>

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/u><\/strong><\/p>

The ruling lands amid renewed tensions between Washington and Havana. Just one day earlier, the U.S. announced murder charges against former Cuban leader Ra\u00fal Castro tied to the 1996 shooting down of planes flown by Miami-based exiles.<\/p>

Read more MN fraud: DOJ announces fraud charges against 15 people, suspect on run<\/a><\/p>

Reuters contributed to this report.<\/i>\u00a0<\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court dealt a major blow Thursday to four major cruise lines accused of profiting from Cuban property seized during Fidel Castro\u2019s communist revolution, reviving lawsuits that could cost the companies hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2234,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[205,41,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-supreme-court","category-travel","category-u-s"],"yoast_head":"\nCruise giants could owe $440M after Supreme Court rules they used property seized in Cuba revolution - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=2238\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cruise giants could owe $440M after Supreme Court rules they used property seized in Cuba revolution - 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