MIAMI — In a historic legal victory, a federal jury in the Southern District of Florida awarded $29.8 million in damages against each of four Expedia corporate defendants to the plaintiff in the first-ever jury trial under the Helms-Burton Act (Echevarria et al. v. Expedia Group, Inc. et al.). The verdict marks a sweeping win for the plaintiffs, who brought claims under Title III of the Act, which allows Cuban-Americans to seek damages from entities that traffic in property confiscated by the communist Castro dictatorship.

“This is a major victory not only for our client, but also for the broader community of Cuban-Americans whose property was wrongfully taken and has been exploited by U.S. companies in partnership with the Cuban communist dictatorship,” Andrés Rivero said. “We are proud to have played a role in securing justice under a law that had never before been tested before a jury.”

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. The jury found in favor of the plaintiffs, awarding $9,950,000 in trebled damages against each defendant, resulting in a total judgment of $29,850,000 against each of them.

Media coverage includes:

Law360 – Fla. Jury Hits Expedia With $30M Helms-Burton Verdict

About Rivero Mestre LLP

Rivero Mestre, from its offices in Miami and New York, represents clients from investigation to verdict and appeal in complex business disputes in U.S. federal courts, state courts, and domestic and international arbitration proceedings. The firm’s practice focuses primarily on representing clients in a broad range of complex commercial disputes including financial institution matters, antitrust matters, intellectual property disputes, and litigation and arbitration relating to Latin American trade and investment. For more information, visit www.riveromestre.com.