The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that cruise lines can be sued under Helms-Burton for using Cuba's confiscated Havana port, vacating the Eleventh Circuit and remanding.
The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on May 21 that American cruise lines can face civil liability under Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act, commonly known as Helms-Burton, for using a Havana port facility that the Castro government seized from its private owners in 1960 [1]. Justice Clarence Thomas wrote for the majority, which vacated the Eleventh Circuit's decision and remanded the cases for further proceedings [1]. The sole dissent came from Justice Elena Kagan [1].
The cases consolidated four defendants: Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd., Carnival Corporation, Norwegian Cruise Line, and MSC Cruises [1]. Havana Docks Corporation, the successor claimant to the confiscated property, brought suit under Title III, which creates a private right of action against any person who "traffics" in property expropriated by the Cuban government [2]. The Eleventh Circuit had previously ruled against Havana Docks, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve the scope of that trafficking provision [2]. Paul Clement argued on behalf of the plaintiffs [1].
The majority's holding resolves a long-standing question about whether foreign-port use by American companies qualifies as trafficking under the statute. Title III was enacted in 1996 but its private right of action was suspended by executive waiver for more than two decades; the Trump administration allowed the suspension to lapse in 2019, triggering a wave of litigation that has worked its way through the federal courts ever since [2]. By affirming that port-use conduct falls within the statute's reach, the Court opens the cruise industry to damages exposure that industry observers have estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars across pending cases.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Brett Kavanaugh each filed concurrences. Both emphasized that the majority opinion should not be read to endorse an unlimited damages theory, warning that a boundless construction of the trafficking provision could produce liability disproportionate to defendants' actual conduct [1]. Their warnings signal that damages questions, including whether treble-damages provisions apply and how liability is apportioned across multiple defendants, will generate significant litigation on remand.
The cases return to the Eleventh Circuit, where district courts will address damages, causation, and any remaining statutory defenses. The ruling affects not only the four named defendants but also any carrier that called at Cuban ports after the 2019 waiver lapse, making it one of the most consequential expansions of Helms-Burton liability since the law's enactment [2].