Posted on 12/31/2022 7:02:36 PM PST by texas booster
Norwegian Cruise Line must pay $110 million in damages for use of a port that Cuba's government confiscated in 1960, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday, a milestone for Cuban Americans seeking compensation for Cold War-era asset seizures.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom in Miami follows her March ruling that the use of the Havana Cruise Port Terminal constituted trafficking in confiscated property owned by the plaintiff, Delaware-registered Havana Docks Corp.
"Judgment is entered in favor of Plaintiff Havana Docks Corporation and against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Ltd," reads the decision.
"Plaintiff is awarded $109,848,747.87 in damages," it says, adding that Norwegian should also pay an additional $3 million in legal fees and costs.
Norwegian Cruise Line did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel has harshly criticized the Helms-Burton Act, describing it as an extraterritorial violation of international law.
Havana Docks had also sued cruise lines Carnival, Royal Caribbean and MSC, an Italian cruise line, under the Helms-Burton Act, which allows U.S. nationals to sue over the use of property seized in Cuba after 1959.
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(Excerpt) Read more at voanews.com ...
In the early 90’s our favorite port was St Thomas. Great shopping without sales tax and the Mahogany bay beach was wonderful. But then the place got overly commercialized.
Thank you for the info! Happy cruising.
After 43 Months, Federal District Court Judge Hands First Cuba Libertad Act Verdict
“Had the Clinton-Gore Administration (1993-2001), Bush-Cheney Administration (2001-2009), Obama-Biden Administration (2009-2017) and Trump-Pence Administration (2017-2021) in conjunction with the [Fidel] Castro Administration (1976-2008), [Raul] Castro Administration (2008-2018), and Diaz-Canel-Valdes Mesa Administration (2019-) engaged directly in negotiations to resolve the 5,913 certified claims valued at US$1,902,202,284.95 by the United States Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (USFCSC), then Title III of the Libertad Act may not have been implemented in May 2019 by the Trump-Pence Administration and the commercial, economic, and political bilateral trajectory may likely have been far different today than it is today.”
Of the forty-four (44) Libertad Act Title III lawsuits filed since 2 May 2019, one has been settled for an undisclosed amount; one has reached a court verdict/judgement; some have been dismissed; some have been appealed to respective Courts of Appeals; two have sought, but not received review by the United States Supreme Court.
The first asset (along with 382 enterprises the same day) to be expropriated by the Republic of Cuba was an oil refinery on 6 August 1960 owned by White Plains, New York-based Texaco, Inc., now a subsidiary of San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corporation (USFCSC: CU-1331/CU-1332/CU-1333 valued at US$56,196,422.73).
The largest certified claim (Cuban Electric Company) valued at US$267,568,413.62 is controlled by Boca Raton, Florida-based Office Depot, Inc. The second-largest certified claim (International Telephone and Telegraph Co, ITT as Trustee, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.) valued at US$181,808,794.14 is controlled by Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International; the certified claim also includes land adjacent to the Jose Marti International Airport in Havana, Republic of Cuba. The third-largest certified claim valued at US$97,373,414.72 is controlled by New York, New York-based North American Sugar Industries, Inc. The smallest certified claim is by Sara W. Fishman in the amount of US$1.00 with reference to the Cuban-Venezuelan Oil Voting Trust.
I wish Ms. Fishman luck in in her quest for her $1.
The culpability is on folks who directly or indirectly try to do business in both Cuba and the USA. If NCL defaults then there could be clawbacks. Thus, this judgment will have a domino effect unless NCL can ensure they can cover the costs.
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