Havana Docks Corporation v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
Issues
Must a plaintiff bringing a claim under Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act prove that the defendant trafficked in property confiscated by the Cuban government in which the plaintiff holds a claim, or instead in property the plaintiff would have owned at the time of trafficking had no expropriation occurred?
This case asks the Supreme Court to determine whether the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act (“the Act”), passed to compensate United States nationals for property seized by the Cuban Regime, provides a private cause of action only for property interests held at the time the Act was passed. Petitioner Havana Docks Corporation, whose facilities were confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960, argues that limiting the cause of action to present-day interests violates the original objectives of the Act. Although its ownership would have expired in 2004, Havana Docks asserts that it retains a continuing property interest according to the Act. Respondent cruise lines, including Royal Caribbean Cruises, contend that the Act only protects specific types of property interests and that they did not “traffic” in Havana Docks’ property according to the statute’s definition. The outcome of the case has implications for United States foreign policy goals in Cuba as well as U.S. nationals’ ability to receive compensation for past confiscations by the Cuban government.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether a plaintiff under Title III of the LIBERTAD Act must prove that the defendant trafficked in property confiscated by the Cuban government as to which the plaintiff owns a claim, or instead that the defendant trafficked in property that the plaintiff would have continued to own at the time of trafficking in a counterfactual world “as if there had been no expropriation.”
In 1905, the Cuban government granted a company, Compañia del Puerto, a concession—an agreement to build and operate a pier at Havana’s port at its own expense. Havana Docks Corp. v.
Additional Resources
- Julia Elbaba & Adriana Gomez Licon, Cruise lines score victory from appeals court reversal of $439M illegal tourism lawsuit, NBC 6 South Florida (Oct. 23, 2024).
- Amy Howe, Supreme Court to hear arguments on confiscations by Cuban government, SCOTUSblog (Feb. 18, 2026).
- Cruise lines to appeal U.S court’s big award to owner of Havana dock, Reuters (Jan. 3, 2023).
- Zach Schonfeld, Supreme Court takes up disputes over seized Cuba property, The Hill (Oct. 3, 2025).