US Supreme Court to Hear Exxon Cuba Claim

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will discuss the extent of a statute that allows American companies to claim property that has been taken by Cuba on issues concerning Exxon Mobil and cruise lines. These claims not long after the administration of President Donald Trump pressured the Cuban government.

Two cases dealing with a 1996 U.S. statute known as the Helms-Burton Act will be heard consecutively in the court. The statute allows U.S. court suits against any person who trafficks in the property that has been compromised by the communist government of Cuba following the 1959 revolution that saw Fidel Castro come to power.

In another instance, Exxon Cuba is also claiming over a billion dollars of compensation claims against Cuban state-owned companies over oil and gas properties that were taken over in the year 1960. This assertion has significantly increased with the passage of time owing to the interests and possible greater damage. The ruling may have far-reaching consequences in terms of the United States claims as regards decades-old nationalizations.

The second example is on the question of whether four cruise lines, namely Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Group, Norwegian Cruise Lines Holdings and MSC Cruises should be subject to pay on the use of docks that were constructed by an American firm and subsequently expropriated by Cuba. First, the cruise line case will be presented to the justices.

Supreme Court Reviews Scope of Helms-Burton Act

 The Trump administration supports the litigation of Exxon Cuba. The administration has described Cuba as an extraordinary and strange threat to national security of the U.S. It has also strengthened its sanctions, such as blocking oil supplies and threatening tariffs against the nations of fuel supply to the island.

Though the two cases imply different legal considerations, they both revolve around the commendation of the power that the Congress wanted the Helms-Burton Act to. The Supreme Court would be able to eliminate certain obstacles to lawsuits that exist under the statute. Its decision can influence reclaiming claims in the future where there is an involvement of a foreign confiscation.

As it seized the Cuban assets owned by Exxon, it was worth approximately 70million dollars then. Today, the claim by Exxon is more than 1 billion in the form of interest and other penalties. The conflict highlights the shadow of post-Cold War expropriations that are long-term in duration.

In 2019, the Exxon filed a lawsuit against the Cuban giant Corporacion CIMEX claiming that it was still making money off property seized. A lower court decided that Cuban state-owned persons may claim foreign sovereign immunity. The next step taken by Exxon was an appeal to the Supreme Court.

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Exxon Seeks Billions Over Seized Assets

The Havana docks case involved Havana docks, an American organization that had received a 99 year concession in 1934 to construct and run docks at the port of Havana. That agreement was canceled by the government of Castro once he assumed power. According to the firm, the cruise lines have been unfairly enjoying the property that was stolen.

Under the previous president, Barack Obama, the four cruise lines utilized the terminal between 2016 and 2019 despite the loosening of travel restrictions. A federal judge originally decided that they had resorted to illegal trafficking. Larger judgments were given out of over $100 million which were later overruled on appeal.