Supreme Court justices on Thursday revived a lawsuit by Havana Docks over Cuban property confiscated after the revolution, dealing a fresh blow to cruise companies that resumed service to Havana during the Obama administration’s brief thaw in relations with Cuba.
The case is rooted in property claims filed by Havana Docks, which operated docks in Havana before the Cuban government seized them more than six decades ago. In a decision delivered in an 8-1 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that a federal appeals court in Atlanta was wrong to throw out the claims.
Writing for the court, Justice Clarence Thomas said the lower court dismissal conflicted with the legal provision at the center of the dispute. Thomas wrote that “the cruise lines used confiscated property to which Havana Docks owns the claim,” a statement that reinforced the Supreme Court’s view of what the Helms-Burton statute requires.
The Supreme Court’s ruling did not end the broader litigation. Thomas noted that the cruise lines still have additional arguments that have yet to be ruled on, and the case now returns to the appeals court for further proceedings.
The dispute turned on a provision Congress enacted known as the Helms-Burton Act, a U.S. law passed in response to the Cuba-related shootdowns that killed civilian passengers decades ago. Under Title III of the law, Americans can sue companies that engage in commercial activity or otherwise benefit from property confiscated by Cuba’s government.
The AP reporting said the suit targeted four cruise lines—Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and MSC Cruises—that brought tourists to Cuba during the window when U.S. policy shifted under President Barack Obama. That policy change, announced in 2016 when Obama and Cuban leader Raúl Castro held a joint news conference, allowed cruise lines to resume service to Cuba.
The shift reversed in 2019, when then-President Donald Trump decided to activate the Helms-Burton provision that makes lawsuits available, along with announcing new restrictions on travel. According to the account, the cruise lines hastily dropped Cuba stops and rerouted ships as the new policy took effect.
In the earlier stages of the litigation, a U.S. district judge in Miami, Beth Bloom, found the cruise lines liable for their use of the Havana terminal the company once controlled. The reporting also said licenses granted by Obama’s Treasury Department for cruise travel to Cuba did not shield the cruise companies from the lawsuit, as Bloom ruled.
Bloom awarded Havana Docks more than $400 million in total damages, the AP account said. A federal appeals court later reversed that judgment, prompting the Supreme Court to review and ultimately to revive the claims.
The decision comes as the Trump administration has stepped up legal pressure related to Cuba, including an indictment of Raúl Castro tied to the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles. The AP said the timing adds to the broader context in which the Supreme Court’s Helms-Burton ruling lands, even though the cruise-line case itself is not resolved to a final judgment by Thursday’s order.