Posted on 05/09/2019 8:13:29 AM PDT by george76
A U.S. law first enacted in the 1990s allowing Americans to sue corporations doing business in Cuba is finally being allowed to take effect.
Signed by President Bill Clinton, the Libertad Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act, was intended to strengthen the U.S. embargo on Cuba. But a waiver was granted for a section known as Title III, which allowed U.S. courts to hold companies doing business in or with Cuba liable for damages to U.S. citizens harmed by the Castro regime.
Every President since Clinton continued to waive that section of the act, but just this year, President Trump announced it will now be in effect. Now, two men with ties to seized seaports in Cuba are the first to file lawsuits, doing so in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Florida. Their target: Florida-based Carnival Corporation, which operates of a number of cruise lines bringing vacationers to Cuba via those ports.
"The original sin of the Cuban Revolution, among other things, was the theft of all property in Cuba,' says Javier Garcia-Behgochea. "Literally everything in Cuba is stolen."
Garcia-Behgochea's family, he claims, is the rightful owner of the seaport in Santiago de Cuba, the island's second largest city. The family raised the capital in 1920 to build and operate the docks, exporting agricultural products.
But after Fidel Castro's rise in 1959, Garcia-Behgochea and his family watched as the guerrillas now in charge started confiscating whatever they could. Castro was nationalizing production of goods and converting Cuba to a centrally planned economy.
...
Carnival is trafficking in our stolen property in violation of the law, and we thank God we have this venue in this great country to address that grievance," adds Garcia-Behgochea.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Carnival might be sued for dockage fees, but does not own the docks. Very limited liabilities
“Accessory after the fact” is a very real thing in US jurisprudence and that means if Carnival enjoys the use of property that they KNOW was stolen then they are just as responsible and liable as the thieves themselves.
More BS do business with china and not cuba, idiocy
How do US courts have the authority to sit in judgement on activities that happen outside US borders? Where does their jurisdiction end?
Excellent....sue the heck out of them.
Every stop must be good for at least a couple'a hundred thousand tourist dollars, eh Pedro ?
You don't need them, I guess.
Fed govt has sole authority on international trade - including defining what is and is not allowed. The referenced law said something wasn’t allowed as part of US policy - similar to not allowing trade with Iraq and NK.
If a company operates within the US (which Carnival does when it ports here) then they fall under the jurisdiction. If they are not a US company then they can choose not to operate within the US and not fall within the jurisdiction of US law. In this case they have not chosen to do so.
Once under US law jurisdiction then the federal courts have oversight on adjudication.
Not taking sides on this issue however, every cruise ship I’ve ever seen or been on is registered outside of the U.S. I wonder how/if that will play into this.
Carnival ships are registered outside the US but the dual-national corporation is headquarterd and based in the US.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Corporation_%26_plc
“Title III, which allowed U.S. courts to hold companies doing business in or with Cuba liable for damages to U.S. citizens harmed by the Castro regime.”
So it appears the damages are the plaintiffs being denied Carnival’s port and docking fees if they can prove they have a legal right to those fees. Should be interesting.
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