A judge has booted two lawsuits against Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and MSC Cruises over use of port facilities illegally obtained by the Fidel Castro regime.
The complaints were thrown out of federal court in Miami as plaintiff Havana Docks Corp. had no legal claim on the property after 2004 when its lease expired.
The cruise lines didn’t start using the cruise terminal facilities until 2017.
The lawsuits were brought under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.
The dismissals come with prejudice meaning the plaintiff cannot sue again based on the same argument.
The decision by Judge Beth Bloom also sets a precedent for Carnival Corp. and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd to argue in their upcoming cases.
Carnival is facing legal action by Havana Docks Corp as well as Javier Garcia-Bengochea, the descendant of a Cuban business owner.
Helms-Burton allows US citizens and naturalized Cuban-Americans to sue for damages over property seized by Cuba’s government after the communist revolution at the start of the 1960s.
