{"id":407,"date":"2026-05-22T11:12:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:12:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=407"},"modified":"2026-05-22T11:12:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T11:12:05","slug":"major-cruise-lines-are-on-the-hook-after-scotus-rules-they-illegally-used-cuban-port-seized-under-castro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=407","title":{"rendered":"Major Cruise Lines Are On The Hook After SCOTUS Rules They Illegally Used Cuban Port Seized Under Castro"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8-1 on Thursday in favor of the Havana Docks Corporation, leaving major cruise lines responsible for paying millions in fines for using ports in Cuba without compensating the American owners of the docks.<\/p>\n

Read more DUKE: The DNC\u2019s 2024 Post-Mortem Best Defined By What\u2019s Not In It<\/a><\/p>\n

The court ruling came after a district court ruled that Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corporation and MSC Cruises each owed $110 million for using the docks to transport more than a million paid passengers to Cuba, a decision that was later reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit before reaching SCOTUS in February, to the opinion slip.<\/p>\n

The syllabus of the court\u2019s decision said the U.S.-based Havana Docks Corporation had legally acquired the Port of Havana in 1928 from the Cuban government before it was seized by Fidel Castro\u2019s communist government in 1959, decades before the previously agreed-upon contract between Cuba and the corporation was set to expire in 2004. (RELATED: Marco Rubio Says Trump Is Offering A \u2018New Relationship\u2019 With Cuba In Anti-Castro Message)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Due to the breach of contract, Havana Docks was able to get a claim against the communist regime certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission that it had suffered about $9 million in losses, with 6% annual interest, the syllabus said.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\"HAVANA,\n<\/div>\n

HAVANA, CUBA \u2013 DECEMBER 2: Fidel Castro and his brother Ra\u00fal attend a May Day parade December 2, 1996 in Havana, Cuba. (Photo by Sven Creutzmann\/Mambo Photography\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

However, in 1996, the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act was approved by Congress, creating a private right of action for U.S. citizens who hold \u201cproperty which was confiscated by the Cuban Government on or after January 1, 1959,\u201d and imposing liability on parties that knowingly and intentionally traffic in such property.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The act also gives the president authority to temporarily suspend the provision, which was done by all presidents until President Donald Trump\u2019s first term, with the suspension expiring in 2019.<\/p>\n

By that point, relations with Cuba had relaxed under the Obama administration, allowing many cruise lines to use the ports that had been seized from Havana Docks while only issuing payments to the Cuban government and not to the corporation.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s $1,000,000,000 Ballroom Security Request Reportedly Hits Snag With GOP<\/a><\/p>\n

Havana Docks alleged that this was a violation of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act and demanded compensation. A majority of the Supreme Court agreed, with Justice Clarence Thomas writing the court\u2019s opinion.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n\"WASHINGTON,\n<\/div>\n

WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 JUNE 20: An exterior view of the Supreme Court on June 20, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Andrew Harnik\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Thomas said the court disagreed with the Eleventh Circuit, which found that the cruise lines\u2019 actions would not have interfered with Havana Docks\u2019 property interest had there been no confiscation, seeing as the docks were only used after the end of the initially agreed-upon contract between the pre-communist Cuban government and Havana Docks.<\/p>\n

Thomas instead argued that Havana Docks did not have to prove the cruise lines would not have interfered with a property interest in a \u201ccounterfactual scenario\u201d because the property was, in reality, \u201ctainted by a past confiscation liable to any United States national who owns a claim to that property.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sole dissenter, Justice Elena Kagan, said the court\u2019s decision may seem \u201csensible at first blush,\u201d but that the property did not belong to Havana Docks at the time of the docking and therefore belonged to the Cuban government.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe docks belonged to the Cuban Government \u2014 not Havana Docks \u2014 all along,\u201d Kagan said. \u201cWhat Havana Docks owned was only a property interest, allowing it to use those docks for a specified time. And that time-limited interest expired in 2004 \u2014 more than a decade before the cruise lines ever used the docks.\u201d (RELATED: New Second Amendment Appeal Request Lands On Supreme Court\u2019s Doorstep)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote a concurrence saying they agreed with the majority opinion, but also wanted to highlight that Havana Docks could potentially seek even more money than the $110 million from each cruise line that used those docks.<\/p>\n

Read more Judge Lets Ex-School Official Walk After 6-Year-Old Allegedly Shoots Teacher In Class<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTUS ruled 8-1 on Thursday, leaving major cruise lines responsible for paying millions in fines for using ports in Cuba.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[725,726,727,431,728,729,730,97],"class_list":["post-407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting","tag-brett-kavanaugh","tag-clarence-thomas","tag-cruise-ship","tag-cuba","tag-elena-kagan","tag-havana","tag-sonia-sotomayor","tag-supreme-court-of-the-united-states"],"yoast_head":"\nMajor Cruise Lines Are On The Hook After SCOTUS Rules They Illegally Used Cuban Port Seized Under Castro - Home Transfer Guide<\/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:\/\/hometransferguide.com\/?p=407\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Major Cruise Lines Are On The Hook After SCOTUS Rules They Illegally Used Cuban Port Seized Under Castro - 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