Expedia Wins Another Legal Battle Over Confiscated Cuban Properties in Miami Court

This Monday, a federal jury in Miami ruled in favor of Expedia Group in a lawsuit filed by two Cuban Americans who accused the company of "trafficking" in properties confiscated by the Cuban regime, as reported by The New York Times.

The plaintiffs, Mario Echevarría, 91, and Maricela Mata, 66, claimed that the company facilitated bookings at five hotels built on land that belonged to their families before the 1959 revolution, violating Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.

The Challenge of Proving Ownership

The jury concluded that neither of the plaintiffs could sufficiently prove ownership of the disputed lands, which prevented the court from examining whether Expedia had acted illegally.

Echevarría alleged his family owned Cayo Coco before the confiscations but failed to provide documentation. Expedia's attorney, David Shank, emphasized this uncertainty to the jury with a rhetorical question: "Whose is it? I have no idea. That's for you to decide."

Mata submitted documents to show the land where the Hotel San Carlos de Cienfuegos—constructed in 1928—was built belonged to her grandfather Antonio. However, the defense argued these were mere commercial registry papers, not a title of ownership.

Expedia's Defense and Legal Victories

The defense maintained that the company was unaware the hotels were on lands claimed by the families and that their operations were conducted under travel licenses issued during the Obama administration. Expedia ceased operations in Cuba in 2025 following the reversal of these policies by the Trump administration.

An Expedia spokesperson expressed satisfaction: "We are pleased with the jury's decision, which supports the stance we have held all along."

The plaintiffs' lawyer, Andrés Rivero, reacted strongly, stating, "These defendants used these properties in alliance with their Cuban communist partners," according to The New York Times.

This ruling marks Expedia's second legal victory in cases related to Cuba. The first was in July 2025, when a federal jury in Delaware ruled in favor of the company in the Sánchez Hill case, where claimants sought over $1.7 billion.

The legal saga includes more chapters: in April 2025, a Miami jury had awarded Echevarría nearly $30 million in the first jury trial under the Helms-Burton Act. However, Judge Federico Moreno later overturned that verdict, finding that Expedia had ceased bookings within the legal timeframe. That case is still on appeal.

Structural Challenges in Claims

Paolo Spadoni, an economist at Augusta University in Georgia and a specialist in Cuban tourism, noted to the Times that "Expedia's victory underscores the significant obstacles Cuban Americans continue to face when bringing claims involving properties expropriated decades ago."

The main hurdle, according to Spadoni, is proving "they have legally recognizable property rights to the assets in question."

John Kavulich of the U.S.-Cuba Trade and Economic Council warned that these setbacks should not deter those seeking claims under the Helms-Burton Act. He cited recent victories like the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Havana Docks Corporation against four major cruise lines for using Havana's confiscated port terminals in 1960 and the subsequent decision allowing ExxonMobil to sue Cuban state entities for over $1 billion in expropriated assets.

Certified claims in the United States regarding Cuban confiscations amount to at least 5,913 cases, valued at approximately $1.9 billion originally and estimated to exceed $9 billion with accumulated interest, a figure illustrating the magnitude of the dispossession perpetrated by the regime over decades.