SCOTUS ruling allows lawsuits over property seized by Cuban government

Key Points:

• The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that major cruise lines Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian, and MSC can be held financially liable for using the American-built port in Havana, Cuba, which was confiscated by the Cuban government in 1960.
• The ruling allows Havana Docks Corporation, a U.S. firm that owned part of the port before the Cuban Revolution, to sue the cruise companies for using the port between 2016 and 2019, potentially seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
• The decision enforces the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act of 1996, which permits U.S. nationals to sue entities trafficking in property confiscated by the Cuban government, reflecting increased pressure on Cuba under the Trump administration.
• Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that any use of confiscated property is sufficient to establish liability, while Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed concerns about the ruling's broad interpretation leading to potentially unlimited recoveries.
• Justice Elena Kagan dissented, arguing that Havana Docks did not have a continuing property interest since their agreement with the Cuban government expired in 2004; a related Supreme Court case involving Exxon Mobil and Cuban property claims is still pending.