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Supreme Court revives Cuba confiscation claims against cruise lines

Supreme Court revives Cuba confiscation claims against cruise lines

Rule Changes

Havana Docks Corporation v. Royal Caribbean reinstates a $440 million judgment and broadens who can sue under the 1996 Helms-Burton Act

May 21st, 2026: Supreme Court reinstates the judgment

Overview

Updated May 22

For 23 years after Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, every president from Clinton to Obama waived Americans' right to sue companies for using property Cuba seized in 1959. Thursday's 8-1 Supreme Court ruling reinstated the right to sue and revived a $440 million judgment against four cruise lines that docked in Havana between 2016 and 2019.

The statute has already produced real settlements. American Airlines resolved a Title III airport-confiscation claim in February 2026; Iberostar settled a hotel-property suit in August 2025 — both under confidential terms. Roughly 45 more Helms-Burton cases are now pending in federal court, and Carnival says it will press remaining defenses on remand.

Why it matters

Any US or foreign company that has touched property Cuba seized after 1959 can now be sued in American courts for triple damages.

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Key Indicators

$440M
Judgment reinstated
Combined damages owed by four cruise lines for docking at Havana port facilities.
8-1
Vote count
Thomas wrote the majority; Kagan was the lone dissenter.
23 years
Title III suspended
Three presidents waived the right to sue before Trump let it activate in 2019.
~1M
Cruise passengers
Paid customers the four cruise lines transported to Cuba between 2016 and 2019.
1959
Year of confiscation
Castro's revolutionary government seized the Havana docks shortly after taking power.

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People Involved

Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Author of the 8-1 majority opinion
 Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan
Associate Justice, US Supreme Court
Sole dissenter
 Mickael Behn
Mickael Behn
President, Havana Docks Corporation
Lead plaintiff

Organizations Involved

HD
Havana Docks Corporation
Delaware corporation
Plaintiff

A Delaware-chartered company whose only meaningful asset since 1960 has been a US-certified claim against Cuba for its confiscated Havana port concession.
Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation
Cruise line operator
Defendant

The world's largest cruise operator and the first to resume US-Cuba sailings in 2016 under an Obama-era license.
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Royal Caribbean Cruises
Cruise line operator
Defendant

The second-largest US cruise operator and the named defendant in the Supreme Court case.

Timeline

September 1960 May 2026

14 events Latest: May 21st, 2026 · 4 months ago Showing 8 of 14
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Supreme Court reinstates the judgment

    Latest Ruling

    An 8-1 majority led by Justice Thomas reversed the 11th Circuit. Kagan dissented. The case returns to the appeals court for remaining defenses.

  2. Carnival says it will fight remaining defenses on remand

    Industry

    After the Supreme Court ruling, Carnival issued a statement: 'We believe strongly in our position and look forward to having our full case heard.' The case returns to the 11th Circuit to address defenses including the lawful-travel exception.

  3. Supreme Court hears argument

    Legal

    Justices questioned both sides on the statute's text and heard a companion case involving ExxonMobil and Cuban state-owned Corporación CIMEX.

  4. American Airlines settles Title III airport-confiscation claim

    Legal

    American Airlines resolved a Helms-Burton suit brought by the heirs of José López Vilaboy, who built the site of Havana's José Martí International Airport. Terms are confidential. The settlement was publicly disclosed in May 2026.

  5. Iberostar settles Title III hotel-property claim

    Legal

    Spanish hotel chain Iberostar settled a Helms-Burton suit in mediation before Senior Judge Robert N. Scola Jr. in the Southern District of Florida. Terms are confidential. The settlement was publicly disclosed in May 2026.

  6. 11th Circuit reverses

    Legal

    The appeals court held that Havana Docks' concession would have expired in 2004, so its property interest no longer existed when the ships docked.

  7. District court awards $440 million

    Legal

    A Miami federal judge entered summary judgment against all four cruise lines, with triple damages under the statute.

  8. Trump bans US cruises to Cuba

    Policy

    The travel ban froze cruise traffic but left the trafficking lawsuits alive in federal court.

  9. Trump activates Title III

    Policy

    After 23 years of bipartisan waivers, the suspension expired. Havana Docks filed suit within hours.

  10. First US cruise ship docks in Havana since 1959

    Industry

    Carnival's Adonia tied up at the old Havana Docks piers, beginning three years of cruise traffic by all four major lines.

  11. Obama announces Cuba normalization

    Policy

    The thaw opened the door for US cruise lines to begin sailings to Havana under Treasury licenses.

  12. Clinton signs the Helms-Burton Act

    Legislation

    Title III let US nationals sue anyone trafficking in property Cuba confiscated after 1959. Clinton suspended that right the same year.

  13. US certifies the Havana Docks claim

    Claim

    The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission valued the loss at about $9 million, accruing 6% interest from the date of confiscation.

  14. Cuba nationalizes the Havana docks

    Confiscation

    Castro's revolutionary government seized the Havana Docks Corporation's port concession along with other US-owned assets.

Scenarios

1

Cruise lines pay the full $440 million after exhausting appeals

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: SCOTUSblog, Faegre Drinker analysis

The 11th Circuit takes up the remaining defenses on remand but rejects them, leaving the original triple-damages award intact. The cruise lines either pay or settle near the reinstated figure to avoid further interest accrual. This is the path most consistent with Thomas's broad textual reading.

2

Eleventh Circuit cuts the award on the cruise lines' remaining defenses

Possible Resolves by End of 2027

Discussed by: Transnational Litigation Blog, defense counsel statements

The Supreme Court ruling left open arguments about whether cruise activity counted as 'trafficking' under the lawful-travel exception and whether damages should be reduced. The 11th Circuit revives those issues and trims the judgment substantially, leaving Havana Docks with a partial win.

3

Title III lawsuits surge across other industries

Likely Resolves by May 21, 2027

Discussed by: Arnold & Porter, Quinn Emanuel client advisories

The broader reading of 'confiscated property' makes hotel chains, telecoms, mining firms, and energy companies that operated on formerly US-owned Cuban assets more vulnerable. New filings spike in the Southern District of Florida as plaintiffs test the theory before any future administration restores the waiver.

4

Congress or a new administration narrows Title III

Unlikely Resolves by Jan 31, 2029

Discussed by: House Foreign Affairs Committee members, EU diplomats

European and Canadian governments, whose companies are also exposed, press for a statutory fix or a renewed waiver. A future president suspends Title III again, or Congress amends it to cap damages or restore the trafficking-exception language the cruise lines lost on.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

March 1964

Sabbatino doctrine on foreign expropriations (1964)

In Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, the Supreme Court refused to second-guess Cuba's nationalization of sugar exporter Compania Azucarera Vertientes-Camaguey under the act of state doctrine. Congress responded with the 1964 Hickenlooper Amendment, telling federal courts to adjudicate the takings anyway.

Then

The amendment allowed limited US-court review of Cuban confiscations but produced few recoveries.

Now

The dispute set up a 60-year tension between judicial deference to foreign sovereigns and congressional demands for compensation.

Why this matters now

Havana Docks is the same fight, sharpened. Thomas's majority sides with Congress's power to define liability for foreign confiscations through statute, even when the property interest has lapsed.

November 1979 - January 1981

Iranian asset freeze and Algiers Accords (1979-1981)

After Iran seized US embassy hostages, President Carter froze about $12 billion in Iranian assets. The Algiers Accords released the hostages and routed claims to the Iran-US Claims Tribunal at The Hague, blocking US courts from hearing the disputes directly.

Then

The tribunal paid out billions to US claimants over four decades using the frozen Iranian funds.

Now

The arrangement became the template for resolving expropriation disputes through specialized commissions instead of domestic civil suits.

Why this matters now

Helms-Burton Title III did the opposite of the Iran model. It pushed Cuban expropriation claims into ordinary US courts instead of a commission, and Thursday's ruling shows why presidents avoided that path for 23 years.

1998 - 2007

Holocaust-era property recovery litigation (1998-2007)

US plaintiffs sued Swiss banks, German insurers, and Austrian companies for assets seized during the Nazi era. Settlements totaled more than $8 billion, including a $1.25 billion Swiss bank deal in 1998 and a $5 billion German foundation in 2000.

Then

Money flowed to survivors and heirs through executive-branch settlement frameworks.

Now

The cases established that US courts will entertain decades-old expropriation claims when Congress and the State Department clear a path.

Why this matters now

It is the closest precedent for the scale of Title III's potential liability. The cruise ruling clears a similar path for Cuba claims, but without the negotiated settlement framework that contained the Holocaust suits.

Sources

(14)
+8
Supreme Court of the United States SCOTUSblog UPI Faegre Drinker CNN Newsweek Transnational Litigation Blog Baker McKenzie Cuba Headlines Hoodline CiberCuba Royal Caribbean Blog Fox Business Cuba Headlines