LafargeHolcim Ltd renamed Holcim Ltd is a French-Swiss multinational company that manufactures building materials

By Gary Raynaldo    DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Swiss multinational cement company LafargeHolcim agreed in principle to settle a lawsuit under Title III of the U.S. Helms-Burton Act of 1996, which established the right to sue for compensation for property confiscated in Cuba. The lawsuit was filed by a U.S. family seeking compensation for the use of their property in Cuba, confiscated in 1960 after Fidel Castro came to power.  This is the first settlement of a legal claim promoted by heirs of a Cuban family under Title III of the U.S. Helms-Burton Act (1996). Title III was activated by the Donald Trump administration (2017-2021), along with over 240 other unilateral measures aimed at stifling the Cuban economy to force a change in its political system. 

The lawsuit was filed in September 2020 in U.S. District Court  for the Southern District of Florida  (WILLIAM H. CLAFLIN, IV  et al   v. LAFARGEHOLCIM LTD (Case 1:20-cv-23787-KMW)     According to the  lawsuit, the Swiss company the company used the U.S. family’s  Cuban property to conduct business without compensation.  Helen A. Claflin, William H. Claflin III, Mary C. Rentschler, Anne C. Allen and John W. Weeks are the  original plaintiffs.  The lawsuit claimed the plaintiffs are the sole owners of Compañía Azucarera Soledad SA, a closely held family-owned company in Cienfuegos, Cuba, whose property has been used by LafargeHolcim.   Excerpts from the  lawsuit: 

“Soledad was a prosperous closely held family-owned corporation that the Cuban government confiscated in 1960 without compensating Soledad’s owners, U.S. nationals Helen Clafin, William H. Claflin; III, Mary C. Rentschler; Anne C. Allen; and John W. Weeks. Soledad’s expansive and successful operations near Cienfuegos, Cuba, included a sugar mill with all necessary facilities, large sugar cane fields, and extensive pasture land in the Province of Las Villas, Cuba. Soledad’s land-holdings included 27,170.98 acres, which included various natural resources, such as limestone. and which were conveniently located near the deepwater port of Cienfuegos, and were traversed by two rivers, one of which was navigable, furnishing water transportation to Cienfuegos. In addition, Soledad owned 31 miles of narrowgauge railroad with steam locomotives. Defendants used a complex web of shell entities and transactions designed, until very recently, to conceal the fact that LafargeHolcim has partially owned and operated and profited from the Carlos Marx cement plant in partnership with the Cuban government since 2000.”

  (WILLIAM H. CLAFLIN, IV  et al   v. LAFARGEHOLCIM LTD (Case 1:20-cv-23787-KMW) 

The Plaintiffs argue that in 2000, prior to investing in Cuba, LafargeHolcim sought legal advice from a US law firm on the effects of Helms-Burton and was made aware of existing claims.  The Swiss lawsuit is one of several cases that have ended up in court since Trump activated the provision.   In the complaint, the plaintiffs had claimed the current market value of the property was an estimated $270 million, plus legal fees, interest and other costs, according to court documents.  The Trump administration activated,  in May  2019,   Title III of the 1996 Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD).  Since then, lawsuits have been   allowed in American courts against Cuban companies using property seized during the 1959 revolution. 

Spanish Chain Meliá Hit With $10 Million Lawsuit For Its Cuba Hotels Under U.S. Helms Burton

(Photo by:  Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times) The Spain-owned Meliá Cohiba hotel across from  Malecón sea in Havana, Cuba

In June 2019,  descendants of former Cuban businessman Rafael Lucas Sanchez Hill have filed a lawsuit in Spain against the Meliá  that seeks to recover $10 Million as indemnification for Cuba lands seized by the government in 1960, after Fidel Castro seized control of the island.  The Spanish hotel chain insists it doesn’t own any assets on the island. Instead, the company says it only manages hotels owned by Cuba.

Federal Judge Dismisses CUBA-Helms-Burton Lawsuit Against Carnival

Carnival Corporation’s Fathom Granted Approval by Cuba to Cruise from U.S. to Cuba (PRNewsFoto/Carnival Corporation & plc)

In July 2020,  a U.S. Federal judge  dismissed a ‘Helms-Burton’ lawsuit against the cruise company Carnival for doing business with Cuba.  The judge in the Southern District of Florida Miami Division threw out the lawsuit filed in 2019 by Cuban-American Javier Garcia-Bengochea against the cruise company Carnival for using properties confiscated in the port of Santiago de Cuba six decades ago.  Judge James Lawrence King dismissed Garcia-Bengochea’s claim for compensation, ruling that his petition did not meet the requirements of Title III of the Helms-Burton Act.  Judge King found the complainant does not have the right to claim, since the properties he refers to as his did not belong to him at the time they were nationalized.

Carnival Cruise become the first company sued under the Trump Administration’s new policy change allowing lawsuits against seized Cuban property.  CARNIVAL,  the Miami-based cruising conglomerate,  was sued in federal court by Mickael Behn and Javier Garcia-Bengochea, both of whom hold claims certified by the federal government for assets confiscated shortly after the Cuban Revolution. 

A lawyer for Carnival, George Fowler, told the newspaper El Nuevo Herald in 2019 that the Helms-Burton law shields commercial activities related to authorized travel to Cuba from compensation claims, and added that Carnival and other cruise lines have Treasury Department licenses.  “The law is clear: If the trip was allowed, the Helms-Burton does not apply,” Mr. Fowler, who worked on the 1996 legislation, told the paper. “It was not the intention of the Helms-Burton law to go after American companies with legal business in Cuba. They can try it, but I’ve been here for 40 years, and I tell them: Good luck.” 

European Union Warns Of Legal Action Against U.S. Over Cuba Property Claims

(Photo by Gary Raynaldo /  ©Diplomatic Times) The Habana Libre Hotel, located in the Vedado section of Havana, used to be the American-owned  Havana Hilton before Fidel Castro came to power and confiscated it along with other US properties in Cuba. The hotel, currently managed by Spain’s Melia chain,  could become a target of U.S. litigation.

Brussels Vows To Protect The Interests Of EU Companies Doing Business In Cuba.  E.U.  calls for the end of the U.S. Embargo against Cuba, and the Helms-Burton Act. 

“The decision by the United States to renege on its longstanding commitment to waive Title III of the Helms-Burton (LIBERTAD) Act is regrettable, and will have an important impact on legitimate EU and Canadian economic operators in Cuba. The EU and Canada consider the extraterritorial application of unilateral Cuba-related measures contrary to international law. “

-Joint statement by High Representative / Vice President Federica Moghernini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada Chrystia Freeland, Apri. 17, 2019, Brussels.