The Helms-Burton Act provides Cuban-Americans whose properties in Cuba were confiscated by the Castro dictatorship with the right to recover damages from persons and entities that traffic in, or benefit from trafficking in, their properties. The Act also provides for treble damages against a defendant that received prior notice of the claim and did not stop its trafficking or compensate the owners of the confiscated property.

Rivero’s practice focuses exclusively on complex commercial litigation, including international arbitration and litigation. A former federal prosecutor, Rivero is a skilled trial lawyer with more than 33 years of experience in representing corporations and entrepreneurs in cross-border disputes, antitrust and securities claims, and partnership and shareholder controversies.

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“The trial of the case is scheduled for later this year. The processes are progressing quite fast and I think the judges are pressing for them to move quickly, they don’t wait, they are not allowing detours or delays,” Rivero Mestre lawyer Ana C. Malavé said in the interview.

More than forty cargo and passenger airlines are unlawfully trafficking in and benefitting from the airport by operating cargo and passenger flights into and out of the airport without permission from, or compensation to, Mr. Regueiro. All of them received notices warning them to cease and desist or face suit. The defendants did not comply with the 30-day notices of plaintiff’s intent to sue, which gives Mr. Regueiro the right to seek treble damages.

Regueiro is the son of José López Vilaboy, who during his ownership of the airport in the 1950s, transformed it from a small, outdated airport into Cuba’s main international airport, serving Havana and surrounding cities. The Cuban government confiscated the airport without any compensation to Vilaboy shortly after the communist Castro regime seized power in 1959. Since then, a number of airlines, including U.S.-based airlines, have routinely used the airport for transporting cargo and passengers.

The Helms-Burton Act provides Cuban-Americans whose properties in Cuba were confiscated by the communist Castro dictatorship, with the right to recover damages from persons and entities that traffic in, or benefit from trafficking in, their properties. The Act also provides for treble damages against a defendant that received prior notice of the claim and did not stop its trafficking or compensate the owners of the confiscated property.

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The documentary aired on Mega TV, was broadcast by Radio Televisión Martí, and will be aired on PBS in April.

The segment featuring Rivero Mestre begins at 29:30.

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Regueiro is the son of José López Vilaboy, who during his ownership of the airport in the 1950s, transformed it from a small, outdated airport into Cuba’s main international airport, serving Havana and surrounding cities. The Cuban government confiscated the airport without any compensation to Vilaboy shortly after the communist Castro regime seized power in 1959. Since then, a number of airlines, including U.S.-based airlines, have routinely used the airport for transporting cargo and passengers.

The Helms-Burton Act provides Cuban-Americans whose properties in Cuba were confiscated by the communist Castro dictatorship, with the right to recover damages from persons and entities that traffic in, or benefit from trafficking in, their properties. The Act also provides for treble damages against a defendant that received prior notice of the claim and did not stop its trafficking or compensate the owners of the confiscated property.

Click the links below to see media coverage.

EFE – Presentan demanda contra American Airlines y LATAM bajo la ley Helms-Burton

Associated Press – Demandan a American y LATAM por uso de aeropuerto de Cuba

Reuters – Demandan a American Airlines y LATAM en EEUU por uso de aeropuerto en Cuba

Fox News – Cuban-American claims to be rightful owner of Havana airport, sues airlines 

The Business Times – American Airlines, Latam face lawsuit over Cuba business 

Law Vanguardia – Presentan demandas contra American Airlines y LATAM bajo la ley Helms-Burton 

Telemundo – Presentan demanda contra American Airlines

Radio Rebelde – Demandadas dos aerolíneas bajo la Ley Helms-Burton contra Cuba 

UOL Noticias – American Airlines e Latam são processadas nos EUA por operar em Cuba

El Nuevo Dia – Las aerolíneas American y Latam reciben las primeras demandas por hacer negocios en Cuba 

LECHO Touristique – Aéroport de la Havane : des compagnies aériennes poursuivies en justice 

The Wall Street Journal – American Airlines, Latam Airlines Sued Over Seized Cuban Airport 

S. News – Cuban-American Sues American Airlines, Latam Airlines for ‘Trafficking’ in Havana Airport

Reuters – Cuban-American sues American Airlines, Latam Airlines for ‘trafficking’ in Havana airport

Daily Business Review – American and LATAM Airlines Hit With Helms-Burton Lawsuit 

Law 360 – Airlines Hit With Helms-Burton Suit Over Cuba’s Main Airport

Miami Herald (video) – Miami man who says he’s rightful owner of Havana’s airport sues American Airlines

El Nuevo Herald (video) – American Airlines enfrenta demanda por el uso del aeropuerto de La Habana

NBC – American Airlines is latest company sued for operating in expropriated property in Cuba 

WLRN (sound clip) – American Airlines Sued For Operating On Seized Property In Cuba

Global Investigations Review – American Airlines and LATAM sued under Helms-Burton Act 

El Economista – Demandan a American y LATAM por uso de aeropuerto de Cuba 

Ciber Cuba – Presentan demanda contra American Airlines y LATAM por operar en el aeropuerto de La Habana 

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• Melia Hotels International, S.A., and its subsidiary Melia Hotels USA, LLC.;
• Expedia, Inc., and its subsidiaries Trivago, Hotels.com, Orbitz, and Travelocity.com; and
• Booking Holdings, Inc., and its subsidiary Booking.com

The Helms-Burton Act provides Cuban-Americans, whose properties in Cuba were confiscated by the communist Castro dictatorship, with the right to recover damages from persons and entities that traffic in, or benefit from trafficking in, their properties. The Act also provides for treble damages against a defendant that received prior notice of the claim and did not stop its trafficking or compensate the owners of the confiscated property. Previously named defendants include:

• Grupo Hotelero Gran Caribe;
• Corporación de Comercio y Turismo Internacional Cubanacán S.A.;
• Grupo de Turismo Gaviota S.A.; and
• Trivago GmbH.

The lawsuit originally was filed by Marisela Mata and Bibiana Hernandez, descendants of Antonio Mata y Alvarez, who built the San Carlos Hotel in Cienfuegos in 1925 and left Cuba after the Cuban government confiscated the hotel in 1962. The lawsuit sought individual damages and damages on behalf of a class of similarly-situated individuals. The amendment adds plaintiffs from three other families whose properties in Varadero, Cayo Coco, and Cienfuegos, Cuba also were confiscated by the communist Castro regime and later trafficked by the same Cuban, U.S., and European entities.

Click the links below to see media coverage.

Daily Business Review – Meliá’s Cuban Hotels Hit With Helms-Burton Class Action

El Nuevo Herald – Melia, Expedia y Booking incluidas en demanda en Miami bajo ley Helms-Burton

ABC Internacional – Tres familias de EE.UU. incluyen a Meliá en la demanda por el embargo de Cuba

ABC Ultima Hora – Las seis noticias que debes conocer hoy, jueves 12 de septiembre

Hispanidad – Exclusivas de la prensa de papel

Noticias Sin – Melia, Expedia y Booking incluidas en demanda en Miami bajo ley Helms-Burton

CiberCuba – Meliá enfrenta su primera demanda en EEUU bajo la Ley Helms-Burton

CincoDías – Díaz-Canel respalda a Meliá en la apertura de su último hotel en Cuba

The post Rivero Mestre adds travel tech giants Expedia and Booking.com to Helms-Burton lawsuit; seeks treble damages appeared first on RIVERO MESTRE LLP | Miami + New York Attorneys | International Law | Commercial Litigation.

The Act provides Cuban-Americans the right to sue foreign entities that wrongfully trafficked in their properties and also provides a plaintiff with treble damages against a defendant who had prior notice of the claim.

Lawsuits have been filed on behalf of class representatives Marisela Mata and Bibiana Hernandez, descendants of Antonio Mata y Alvarez, who built the San Carlos hotel in Cienfuegos in 1925 and left after the government led by Fidel Castro appropriated the hotel in 1962, as well as other plaintiffs, against the following:

• Grupo Hotelero Gran Caribe;
• Corporación de Comercio y Turismo Internacional Cubanacán S.A.;
• Grupo de Turismo Gaviota S.A.;
• Corporación Cimex S.A.;
• Trivago GmbH (a German limited liability company); and
• Booking.com B.V., (a Dutch limited liability company)

Several other foreign entities have received 30-day notices of intent to sue.

Click the links below to see news coverage of these lawsuits. 

CBS Miami – Miami Family Suing Cuban Government, Spanish Hotel Chain Over Business Confiscated by Castro Regime in 1960’s

The Wall Street Journal – Expedia’s Trivago Is Sued Over Seized Cuban Hotel

The Miami Herald – Spanish Meliá company may be sued in U.S. over its use of confiscated hotel in Cuba

Law.com – Law Firm Targets Trivago in Helms-Burton Lawsuit

Law 360 – Cuban Hotel Owners Sue Trivago Over Confiscated Property

The Daily Business Review – Miami Law Firm Targets Trivago in Helms-Burton Lawsuit

The Daily Business Review – Where Are All the Helms-Burton Lawsuits?

Florida Trend – Rivero Mestre Files Ground-Breaking Helms-Burton Class Action

Diario Las Américas – Presentan demanda en Miami contra Trivago al amparo de la Ley Helms-Burton

El Economista – Nueva demanda en Miami bajo la ley Helms-Burton, esta vez contra Trivago

El Nacional – Nueva demanda en Miami bajo la ley Helms-Burton, esta vez contra Trivago

Noticias SIN – Nueva demanda en Miami bajo la ley Helms-Burton, esta vez contra Trivago

Impacto Latino – Nueva demanda en Miami bajo la ley Helms-Burton, esta vez contra Trivago

La Vanguardia – Nueva demanda en EEUU bajo la ley Helms-Burton, esta vez contra Trivago

América Tevé – Se presentan las primeras demandas colectivas contra cadenas hoteleras que operan en Cuba

América Tevé Canal41 – El cerco de la ley Helms-Burton sobre el régimen cubano sigue reforzándose

Radio Televisión Martí – Las Noticias Como Son, miércoles 19 de junio 19, 2019

Radio Televisión Martí – Respaldada por el Título III de Ley Helms-Burton empresa subsidiaria de Expedia es demandada

Radio Televisión Martí – Abordamos la demanda de una familia cubana contra la compañía española Meliá por operar un hotel en Cienfuegos que le fue expropiado a sus dueños originales

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