Miami Court Orders Expedia to Pay $29.8 Million to Cuban-American Plaintiff After Winning Helms-Burton Act Lawsuit

In a landmark legal triumph, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida awarded $29.8 million to a Cuban-American plaintiff against each of the four corporate defendants associated with Expedia. This marks the first jury trial under the Helms-Burton Act (Echevarría et al. v. Expedia Group, Inc. et al.).

The verdict signifies a decisive win for the plaintiffs who leveraged Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, granting Cuban-Americans the right to seek damages from entities that engage in business with properties confiscated by Castro's communist regime. The law firm Rivero & Mestre, which successfully argued the case, highlighted this achievement on their website.

Andrés Rivero, an attorney from the firm, commented, "This is not only a significant victory for our client but also for the broader Cuban-American community whose assets were unjustly seized and exploited by American companies in collaboration with Cuba's communist dictatorship. We take pride in having helped secure justice under a law that had never before been tested before a jury."

The Helms-Burton Act also allows for the tripling of damage awards against defendants who continue trafficking in confiscated goods after being notified of the claims. The jury sided with the plaintiffs, granting $9,950,000 in trebled damages to each defendant, culminating in a total judgment of $29,850,000 against each one.

The Plaintiff: Mario Echevarría

Journalist Wilfredo Cancio, who reviewed the lawsuit, reported in Café Fuerte that the recipient of this ruling is Mario Echevarría, a Cuban-American naturalized in 1983. Echevarría claimed ownership of lands in Cayo Coco, which were expropriated from his family in 1959 under the Agrarian Reform Law enacted by the Cuban regime.

Allegations Against Expedia Group

The lawsuit targeted Expedia Group and its subsidiaries—Hotels.com LP, Hotels.com GP, and Orbitz LLC—alleging that their digital platforms provided hotel bookings on properties built on the expropriated land, generating profits without legal authorization.

The hotels Iberostar Mojito, Iberostar Colonial, and Pullman Cayo Coco, located on the northern coast of Cuba's Cayo Coco, were identified in the lawsuit as being involved in trafficking the confiscated property.

Expedia's Lack of Due Diligence

During the trial, an Expedia employee testified that neither the parent company nor its subsidiaries requested documentation from the Cuban government regarding hotel ownership. They also failed to consider the legal implications of the Helms-Burton Act when offering these services.

Potential for Appeal

Although not yet confirmed, Expedia Group—one of the world's leading travel platforms, headquartered in Seattle with annual revenues exceeding $13.6 billion—may appeal the decision to a higher court.

Echevarría's claim originated in 2019 when he, along with three other Cuban-Americans, filed a lawsuit over properties in Varadero and Santa Cruz del Norte. However, the case was dismissed in 2020. In 2023, Echevarría individually reactivated the lawsuit, successfully bringing it to trial.

The Helms-Burton Act, enacted in 1996 during Bill Clinton's presidency, had its Title III suspended for over two decades due to fears of diplomatic conflicts. Its reactivation in 2019, during President Trump's first term, has paved the way for lawsuits like this one, setting precedents in the fight for rights over confiscated properties in Cuba.

Rivero & Mestre is a prestigious law firm specializing in representing clients in complex commercial disputes, both in U.S. state and federal courts and in national and international arbitrations. From their offices in Miami and New York, the firm has built a strong reputation in litigation related to financial institutions, antitrust law, intellectual property, and commercial and investment disputes in Latin America.