Further Thoughts on Personal Jurisdiction for Helms-Burton Act Claims
Last week, Bill Dodge reported on the Eleventh Circuit’s recent decision in Rodriguez v. Imperial Brands, PLC, in which the court dismissed Helms-Burton Act claims against two British defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction. Bill critiqued the court’s application of Fuld v. Palestine Liberation Organization (2025), but not the decision’s ultimate outcome. The difficulty with…
Continue ReadingEleventh Circuit Applies Fuld in Helms-Burton Case
On July 23, 2026, in Rodriguez v. Imperial Brands, PLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld the dismissal for lack of personal jurisdiction of claims against two British corporations under the Helms-Burton Act for trafficking in property expropriated by Cuba. The opinion is one of the first by a circuit court…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Says Helms-Burton Abrogates Foreign Sovereign Immunity
In Exxon Mobil Corp v. Corporación CIMEX, S.A. (Cuba), the Supreme Court held that the Helms-Burton Act abrogated the sovereign immunity of Cuban agencies and instrumentalities for suits brought under the Act. Plaintiffs may therefore pursue such suits whether or not they can satisfy one of the exceptions to immunity in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities…
Continue ReadingThrowback Thursday: The Helms-Burton Act’s 30th Anniversary
Thirty years ago today, on March 12, 1996, President Clinton signed into law the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, better known by the names of its principal sponsors as the Helms-Burton Act (“the Act”). The Act was designed to sanction Fidel Castro’s government and to encourage a transition to a democratically…
Continue ReadingPreview of Supreme Court Arguments in Helms-Burton Act Cases: Havana Docks and Cimex
On February 23, 2026, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises and Exxon Mobil Corp v. Corporación Cimex. Prior coverage is here, here, and here. The Helms-Burton Act cases slated for argument on February 23 present the following two questions: Question 1: The issue before the Court…
Continue ReadingFlorida Judge Sets Aside Historic Helms-Burton Verdict
More big news in the hot new topic in transnational litigation: the Helms-Burton Act. A Florida district court has set aside the historic $120 million jury verdict awarded to a Cuban-American plaintiff against hotel booking services. The judge held that the plaintiffs offered insufficient evidence that the defendants had “knowingly” “traffic[ked]” in confiscated property. Background…
Continue ReadingTrump Administration Backs Helms-Burton Plaintiffs in Two CVSGs
Last week, the Solicitor General filed briefs recommending that the Supreme Court grant review in two cases under the Helms-Burton Act. Passed in 1996, Helms-Burton allows U.S. nationals who own claims to property expropriated by Cuba to sue any person who traffics in such property, potentially for three times the value of the claim. Under…
Continue ReadingA Win for Helms-Burton Plaintiffs, But Potential Loss for US Companies
On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated a district court’s decision dismissing José Ramón López Regueiro’s case against American Airlines and LATAM Airlines under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. The court of appeals remanded, holding that the district court’s interpretation of the citizenship prerequisites in Helm-Burton conflicted…
Continue ReadingRecent Developments in Helms-Burton Litigation
It is a busy time in the Helms-Burton world. With a $29.8 million jury award in Florida, major developments in the law of personal jurisdiction, several notable court of appeals decisions, and two recent CVSGs, there is a lot going on. That stands to reason. It was 2019 when the first Trump administration lifted the…
Continue Reading$29.8 Million Judgment in First-Ever Helms-Burton Jury Trial
A Cuban-American plaintiff has won a major jury verdict in the Southern District of Florida against four corporate defendants associated with Expedia Group. The case involves an island off the coast of Cuba, which the plaintiff, Mario Echevarría, claimed was expropriated from his family in 1959. The defendants provided digital platforms that allowed travelers to…
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