US federal jury finds against Expedia in landmark US$30mn Title III decision

28 April 2025

In a landmark decision, a US Federal judge sitting with a jury in Miami has ordered the Expedia Group to pay US$29.8mn to a Cuban-American businessman living in Miami. The ruling follows  a finding in his favour under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. The decision may be appealed to the US Supreme Court

The verdict relates to a claim of ownership of land at Cayo Coco confiscated from the family of Mario Echevarría, who reportedly became a US citizen in 1983. The claim revolves around land confiscated and occupied  at a time when new agrarian laws were introduced in 1959 and revised and expanded in 1963 by Cuba’s revolutionary government, although the precise date of the expropriation was contended duing the trial.  The case revolved around the allegation that by promoting, marketing and selling bookings at hotels on Cayo Coco, Expedia had engaged in trafficking as defined by the Helms Burton Libertad Act.

In his judgement, Federal Judge Federico Moreno wrote that “The defendants profited by offering customers reservations at these hotels on their travel websites. The defendants admit they failed to investigate whether the hotels were located on confiscated land.”

The lawsuit brought against the Expedia Group alleged that four of its subsidiaries,  Hotel.com LP, Hotels.com GP, and Orbitz LLC, digitally profited through ‘trafficking’ on websites offering bookings at Iberostar Mojito, Iberostar Colonial, and Pullman Cayo Coco, all on Cayo Coco, built on expropriated land.

During the trial, an Expedia employee admitted that the company failed to investigate the ownership of the hotels or consider the implications of the law protecting Echeverría.

Speaking to the Bogota based Spanish language cable television channel NTN24, Andrés Rivero of the Rivero & Mestre law firm, who represented the plaintiff, said: “This is a major victory not only for our client, but also for the Cuban-American community at large, whose assets were improperly seized and exploited by US companies in collaboration with the Cuban communist dictatorship. It wasn’t easy, and winning the verdict with a jury made up of Miami citizens was a huge satisfaction,” he said.

The lawsuit was first filed jointly in 2019 with other descendants of confiscated properties. Although the joint claims were dismissed by a Federal Court in 2020, Echevarría subsequently in 2023 pursued a version of his own claim individually. It is the first such lawsuit to reach a jury trial.

Two cases are awaiting review by the US Supreme Court. It is expected to decide soon whether to accept a request for a review to set aside a ruling in favour of four cruise lines, Carnival, MSC SA, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian. In an earlier ruling, a panel of judges from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta decided not to hear a request to reverse  a  previous ruling ordering then to pay US$43mn to the Havana Docks Corporation which claims ownership, for alleged ‘trafficking’ through their use of port facilities in Havana between 2015 and 2019.

Highlights in this issue: 

  • BioCubaFarma seeking new suppliers and strategic alliances in Europe
  • Energy overtakes tourism as Cuba’s national investment priorities change
  • US State Department will only engage in dialogue with Cuba when it deems it necessary
  • Joint pharmaceutical enterprise being established in Belarus
  • Cuba’s leadership expresses sadness at passing of Pope Francis

Also awaiting a decision by the US Supreme Court for a hearing is a request from ExxonMobil in relation to  a previous ruling in its ‘frozen’ lawsuit against the Cuban state-owned companies CIMEX and Cuba Petróleo (CUPET), both of which are linked to Cuba’s powerful military-linked conglomerate GAESA. Exxon is seeking compensation for the nationalisation in the 1960s and subsequent operation of the Ñico López refinery and more than 100 service stations.

The Helms-Burton legislation was passed in 1996 by the Clinton administration enabling US claimants to introduce  lawsuits against foreign entities alleged to be ‘trafficking’ or benefitting from the use of property confiscated by the Cuban Government. Following its initial suspension after a threat by the EU and others to initiate a complaint at the World Trade Organisation relating to the Title’s extra-territoriality, a reciprocal agreement was established relating to EU policy towards Cuba. However, potential litigants were again allowed in 2019 to proceed under Title III during the first Trump Presidency. The Title then remained active until January this year when the Biden administration opted to again suspend its use. However, on taking office days later Trump immediately reinstated the provision.

According to the Miami Herald since Title III was reactivated in 2019,  45 Title III related lawsuits have been filed,  and six out-of-court settlements and one jury verdict reached.

28 April 2025, Issue 1277

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