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Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2025","paragraph_id":"para_1"},{"text":"Syllabus","paragraph_id":"para_2"},{"text":"NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is","paragraph_id":"para_3"},{"text":"being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued.","paragraph_id":"para_4"},{"text":"The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been","paragraph_id":"para_5"},{"text":"prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.","paragraph_id":"para_6"},{"text":"See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337.","paragraph_id":"para_7"},{"text":"SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES","paragraph_id":"para_8"},{"text":"Syllabus","paragraph_id":"para_9"},{"text":"HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_10"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD., ET AL.","paragraph_id":"para_11"},{"text":"CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR","paragraph_id":"para_12"},{"text":"THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT","paragraph_id":"para_13"},{"text":"No. 24–983. Argued February 23, 2026—Decided May 21, 2026","paragraph_id":"para_14"},{"text":"In 1928, the United States-based Havana Docks Corporation acquired","paragraph_id":"para_15"},{"text":"from the Cuban Government a property interest in the development","paragraph_id":"para_16"},{"text":"and operation of docks at the Port of Havana. That property interest,","paragraph_id":"para_17"},{"text":"a usufructuary concession, was time-limited and set to expire in 2004.","paragraph_id":"para_18"},{"text":"The Cuban Government agreed that, if it expropriated the docks before","paragraph_id":"para_19"},{"text":"2004, it would compensate Havana Docks for the value of the works it","paragraph_id":"para_20"},{"text":"had constructed. After Fidel Castro seized power in 1959, the new Cu-","paragraph_id":"para_21"},{"text":"ban Government decreed that it would forcibly take American-owned","paragraph_id":"para_22"},{"text":"properties and enterprises in Cuba and specifically identified Havana","paragraph_id":"para_23"},{"text":"Docks. As relevant here, the Cuban Government seized, without com-","paragraph_id":"para_24"},{"text":"pensation, the docks that Havana Docks had constructed and its prop-","paragraph_id":"para_25"},{"text":"erty interest in those docks. Havana Docks filed a claim with the For-","paragraph_id":"para_26"},{"text":"eign Claims Settlement Commission, which certified about $9 million","paragraph_id":"para_27"},{"text":"in losses, plus six percent annual interest. Despite these certified","paragraph_id":"para_28"},{"text":"losses, Havana Docks lacked any means to obtain compensation. That","paragraph_id":"para_29"},{"text":"began to change in 1996, when Congress enacted the Cuban Liberty","paragraph_id":"para_30"},{"text":"and Democratic Solidarity Act, 22 U. S. C. §6021 et seq., which creates","paragraph_id":"para_31"},{"text":"a private right of action for United States nationals who own claims to","paragraph_id":"para_32"},{"text":"“property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government on or after","paragraph_id":"para_33"},{"text":"January 1, 1959,” §6082(a)(1)(A). Title III of the Act imposes liability","paragraph_id":"para_34"},{"text":"on those who knowingly and intentionally traffic in such confiscated","paragraph_id":"para_35"},{"text":"property. §§6023(13)(A)(i), (ii). The Act authorizes the President to","paragraph_id":"para_36"},{"text":"“suspend” the Title III right of action, §§6085(c)(1), (2), and Presidents","paragraph_id":"para_37"},{"text":"Clinton, Bush, and Obama continuously suspended the right of action","paragraph_id":"para_38"},{"text":"from its effective date onward. President Trump allowed the suspen-","paragraph_id":"para_39"},{"text":"sion of the Title III right of action to expire in May 2019.","paragraph_id":"para_40"},{"text":"2 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_41"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_42"},{"text":"Syllabus","paragraph_id":"para_43"},{"text":"From 2016 to 2019, four commercial cruise lines—Royal Caribbean","paragraph_id":"para_44"},{"text":"Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corporation, and","paragraph_id":"para_45"},{"text":"MSC Cruises—transported nearly a million paid passengers to Cuba,","paragraph_id":"para_46"},{"text":"using the docks that Havana Docks built to embark and disembark","paragraph_id":"para_47"},{"text":"their passengers. In 2019, Havana Docks invoked Title III and sued","paragraph_id":"para_48"},{"text":"the cruise lines in the United States District Court for the Southern","paragraph_id":"para_49"},{"text":"District of Florida. The cruise lines argued they were not liable be-","paragraph_id":"para_50"},{"text":"cause Havana Docks’ property interest would have expired in 2004","paragraph_id":"para_51"},{"text":"even absent confiscation. The District Court rejected that argument","paragraph_id":"para_52"},{"text":"and entered summary judgment against all four cruise lines, awarding","paragraph_id":"para_53"},{"text":"Havana Docks more than $100 million from each. A divided panel of","paragraph_id":"para_54"},{"text":"the Eleventh Circuit reversed. In its view, a defendant is liable for","paragraph_id":"para_55"},{"text":"trafficking in confiscated property only if its actions would have inter-","paragraph_id":"para_56"},{"text":"fered with the plaintiff ’s property interest had there been no confisca-","paragraph_id":"para_57"},{"text":"tion. On that view, because Havana Docks’ concession would have ex-","paragraph_id":"para_58"},{"text":"pired before 2016, the cruise lines’ challenged conduct from 2016 to","paragraph_id":"para_59"},{"text":"2019 did not constitute trafficking.","paragraph_id":"para_60"},{"text":"Held: The cruise lines’ use of the docks is sufficient to establish that they","paragraph_id":"para_61"},{"text":"used “property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government”; Ha-","paragraph_id":"para_62"},{"text":"vana Docks is not required to establish that the cruise lines trafficked","paragraph_id":"para_63"},{"text":"in Havana Dock’s property interest. Pp. 8–16.","paragraph_id":"para_64"},{"text":"(a) Title III generally makes any person who “traffics in property","paragraph_id":"para_65"},{"text":"which was confiscated by the Cuban Government . . . liable to any","paragraph_id":"para_66"},{"text":"United States national who owns the claim to such property.”","paragraph_id":"para_67"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A). This dispute turns on whether the relevant “property","paragraph_id":"para_68"},{"text":"which was confiscated” must be Havana Docks’ property interest in the","paragraph_id":"para_69"},{"text":"docks (the concession), or whether it could instead be the docks them-","paragraph_id":"para_70"},{"text":"selves.","paragraph_id":"para_71"},{"text":"Under the plain text of Title III, “property which was confiscated”","paragraph_id":"para_72"},{"text":"can refer to the physical property in which the plaintiff had an interest,","paragraph_id":"para_73"},{"text":"and not just the interest itself. Title III makes entities liable for traf-","paragraph_id":"para_74"},{"text":"ficking in “any property . . . and any . . . interest therein” that the Cu-","paragraph_id":"para_75"},{"text":"ban Government confiscated, §§6023(12)(A), 6082(a)(1)(A), and the","paragraph_id":"para_76"},{"text":"Act’s definition of “property” makes clear that the Act imposes liability","paragraph_id":"para_77"},{"text":"for trafficking in both physical property and property interests. The","paragraph_id":"para_78"},{"text":"term “any property” includes physical things, as the Court recognized","paragraph_id":"para_79"},{"text":"when it previously considered Fidel Castro’s expropriations and noted","paragraph_id":"para_80"},{"text":"that the Cuban Government “nationalize[d] by forced expropriation","paragraph_id":"para_81"},{"text":"property . . . in which American nationals had an interest.” Banco","paragraph_id":"para_82"},{"text":"Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U. S. 398, 401 (emphasis added).","paragraph_id":"para_83"},{"text":"The relevant “property which was confiscated” is therefore not lim-","paragraph_id":"para_84"},{"text":"ited to the plaintiff ’s interest in that property; it can refer to the phys-","paragraph_id":"para_85"},{"text":"ical property in which the plaintiff had an interest when the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_86"},{"text":"Government “seiz[ed] . . . control of ” it after January 1, 1959.","paragraph_id":"para_87"},{"text":"3Cite as: 608 U. S. ___ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_88"},{"text":"Syllabus","paragraph_id":"para_89"},{"text":"§6023(4)(A). Confiscated property is, as it were, tainted—off limits—","paragraph_id":"para_90"},{"text":"such that anyone who uses the property can be liable to those who had","paragraph_id":"para_91"},{"text":"any interest in the tainted property. Pp. 8–11.","paragraph_id":"para_92"},{"text":"(b) On that understanding of “property,” Havana Docks has shown","paragraph_id":"para_93"},{"text":"that the cruise lines used confiscated property in which Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_94"},{"text":"had a property interest and to which it owns a claim. The docks are","paragraph_id":"para_95"},{"text":"“property which was confiscated” because Havana Docks established","paragraph_id":"para_96"},{"text":"that the Cuban Government confiscated those docks without compen-","paragraph_id":"para_97"},{"text":"sation when Castro’s forces physically took possession of the docks and","paragraph_id":"para_98"},{"text":"expelled Havana Docks’ agents in 1960. The cruise lines “use[d]” or","paragraph_id":"para_99"},{"text":"“engage[d] in commercial activity using” the docks, §§6023(13)(A)(i),","paragraph_id":"para_100"},{"text":"(ii), when they transported nearly a million paying passengers to Cuba","paragraph_id":"para_101"},{"text":"“without the authorization of ” Havana Docks, §6023(13)(A). Finally,","paragraph_id":"para_102"},{"text":"Havana Docks is a “United States national who owns the claim” to the","paragraph_id":"para_103"},{"text":"confiscated docks, §6082(a)(1)(A), as its Commission-certified claim is","paragraph_id":"para_104"},{"text":"“conclusive proof ” that it has satisfied this element, §6083(a)(1).","paragraph_id":"para_105"},{"text":"Pp. 11–13.","paragraph_id":"para_106"},{"text":"(c) The Court of Appeals’ analysis and the cruise lines’ arguments","paragraph_id":"para_107"},{"text":"conflict with Title III’s text. Pp. 13–16.","paragraph_id":"para_108"},{"text":"(1) The Court of Appeals interpreted the Act to require a counter-","paragraph_id":"para_109"},{"text":"factual analysis, assuming that there had been no confiscation of the","paragraph_id":"para_110"},{"text":"owner’s property interest: “[T]he way to give effect to the statutory","paragraph_id":"para_111"},{"text":"language (‘traffics in property which was confiscated’),” the court said,","paragraph_id":"para_112"},{"text":"“is to view the property interest at issue in a Title III action as if there","paragraph_id":"para_113"},{"text":"had been no expropriation and then determine whether the alleged","paragraph_id":"para_114"},{"text":"conduct constituted trafficking in that interest.” 119 F. 4th, at 1287.","paragraph_id":"para_115"},{"text":"That counterfactual approach rested on the premise that “property”","paragraph_id":"para_116"},{"text":"could refer only to present property interests, but this approach is dif-","paragraph_id":"para_117"},{"text":"ficult to understand and apply, and would foreclose liability in cases","paragraph_id":"para_118"},{"text":"where the text demands it. If the approach requires courts to assume","paragraph_id":"para_119"},{"text":"that the original rightsholder retained his legal rights, it would read","paragraph_id":"para_120"},{"text":"out of the Act cases of trafficking that should be in the heartland of","paragraph_id":"para_121"},{"text":"Title III, such as when companies sell and purchase confiscated prop-","paragraph_id":"para_122"},{"text":"erty interests. Title III is instead simply an antitrafficking right of","paragraph_id":"para_123"},{"text":"action that recognizes that the effect of the Cuban Government’s ex-","paragraph_id":"para_124"},{"text":"propriation was the destruction of the plaintiff ’s interest in the prop-","paragraph_id":"para_125"},{"text":"erty. It then provides a right to compensation based on the plaintiff ’s","paragraph_id":"para_126"},{"text":"former property interest from those who later traffic in the property","paragraph_id":"para_127"},{"text":"and thereby help to support the Communist Cuban Government.","paragraph_id":"para_128"},{"text":"Pp. 13–15.","paragraph_id":"para_129"},{"text":"(2) The cruise lines’ argument that the Cuban Government did not","paragraph_id":"para_130"},{"text":"confiscate the docks, but only the concession, fails. The Act defines","paragraph_id":"para_131"},{"text":"“confiscat[ion]” to include the seizure of “control of property,”","paragraph_id":"para_132"},{"text":"§6023(4)(A), and when armed agents physically occupied the dock","paragraph_id":"para_133"},{"text":"4 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_134"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_135"},{"text":"Syllabus","paragraph_id":"para_136"},{"text":"facilities, they seized control of the docks. Before the seizure, Havana","paragraph_id":"para_137"},{"text":"Docks was in possession of the works; after the seizure, the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_138"},{"text":"Government stopped Havana Docks from operating, using, enjoying,","paragraph_id":"para_139"},{"text":"possessing, or otherwise controlling the docks. The Cuban Govern-","paragraph_id":"para_140"},{"text":"ment thereby extinguished Havana Docks’ concession and physically","paragraph_id":"para_141"},{"text":"occupied the docks, and those actions constitute confiscation of the","paragraph_id":"para_142"},{"text":"docks under Title III. Pp. 15–16.","paragraph_id":"para_143"},{"text":"(d) Because the Court of Appeals wrongfully concluded that the","paragraph_id":"para_144"},{"text":"cruise lines did not use confiscated property to which Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_145"},{"text":"owns the claim, it did not reach the cruise lines’ remaining arguments","paragraph_id":"para_146"},{"text":"against liability; those arguments are not before the Court, and the","paragraph_id":"para_147"},{"text":"Court does not address them. P. 16.","paragraph_id":"para_148"},{"text":"119 F. 4th 1276, vacated and remanded.","paragraph_id":"para_149"},{"text":"THOMAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which ROBERTS, C. J.,","paragraph_id":"para_150"},{"text":"and ALITO, SOTOMAYOR, GORSUCH, KAVANAUGH, BARRETT, and JACKSON,","paragraph_id":"para_151"},{"text":"JJ., joined. SOTOMAYOR, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which","paragraph_id":"para_152"},{"text":"KAVANAUGH, J., joined. KAGAN, J., filed a dissenting opinion.","paragraph_id":"para_153"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_154"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_155"},{"text":"1Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_156"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_157"},{"text":"NOTICE: This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the","paragraph_id":"para_158"},{"text":"United States Reports. Readers are requested to notify the Reporter of","paragraph_id":"para_159"},{"text":"Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C. 20543,","paragraph_id":"para_160"},{"text":"pio@supremecourt.gov, of any typographical or other formal errors.","paragraph_id":"para_161"},{"text":"SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES","paragraph_id":"para_162"},{"text":"No. 24–983","paragraph_id":"para_163"},{"text":"HAVANA DOCKS CORPORATION, PETITIONER v.","paragraph_id":"para_164"},{"text":"ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, LTD., ET AL.","paragraph_id":"para_165"},{"text":"ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF","paragraph_id":"para_166"},{"text":"APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT","paragraph_id":"para_167"},{"text":"[May 21, 2026]","paragraph_id":"para_168"},{"text":"JUSTICE THOMAS delivered the opinion of the Court.","paragraph_id":"para_169"},{"text":"In 1996, Congress enacted the Cuban Liberty and Demo-","paragraph_id":"para_170"},{"text":"cratic Solidarity Act. The Act seeks to deter trafficking in","paragraph_id":"para_171"},{"text":"property that the Cuban Government confiscated from","paragraph_id":"para_172"},{"text":"Americans after the Communist Revolution of 1959. 22","paragraph_id":"para_173"},{"text":"U. S. C. §§6081(3)(B), (11). To that end, the Act generally","paragraph_id":"para_174"},{"text":"imposes liability on those who use confiscated property to","paragraph_id":"para_175"},{"text":"which an American entity owns a claim. §§6082(a)(1)(A),","paragraph_id":"para_176"},{"text":"6023(13)(A)(i), (ii).","paragraph_id":"para_177"},{"text":"This case concerns whether the Act imposes liability on","paragraph_id":"para_178"},{"text":"four cruise lines that used docks that the Cuban Govern-","paragraph_id":"para_179"},{"text":"ment took from an American company in 1960. Before the","paragraph_id":"para_180"},{"text":"Communist Revolution, petitioner Havana Docks Corpora-","paragraph_id":"para_181"},{"text":"tion built, operated, and held a time-limited property inter-","paragraph_id":"para_182"},{"text":"est in docks at the Port of Havana. After the Communist","paragraph_id":"para_183"},{"text":"Revolution, the Cuban Government seized control of those","paragraph_id":"para_184"},{"text":"docks. Then, between 2016 and 2019, four commercial","paragraph_id":"para_185"},{"text":"cruise lines used those same docks to embark and disem-","paragraph_id":"para_186"},{"text":"bark nearly a million passengers. Havana Docks sued the","paragraph_id":"para_187"},{"text":"cruise lines under the Act and won judgments against each","paragraph_id":"para_188"},{"text":"of them in the District Court.","paragraph_id":"para_189"},{"text":"2 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_190"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_191"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_192"},{"text":"The Court of Appeals reversed. In its view, a defendant","paragraph_id":"para_193"},{"text":"is liable for trafficking in confiscated property only if its ac-","paragraph_id":"para_194"},{"text":"tions would have interfered with the plaintiff ’s property in-","paragraph_id":"para_195"},{"text":"terest had there been no confiscation. The court held that","paragraph_id":"para_196"},{"text":"the cruise lines were not liable because Havana Docks’","paragraph_id":"para_197"},{"text":"property interest in the docks would have expired before","paragraph_id":"para_198"},{"text":"2016 had the Cuban Government not confiscated the docks.","paragraph_id":"para_199"},{"text":"We disagree. The Act generally makes those who use","paragraph_id":"para_200"},{"text":"property tainted by a past confiscation liable to any United","paragraph_id":"para_201"},{"text":"States national who owns a claim to that property. Havana","paragraph_id":"para_202"},{"text":"Docks did not have to prove that the cruise lines interfered","paragraph_id":"para_203"},{"text":"with a property interest that would have existed in the","paragraph_id":"para_204"},{"text":"counterfactual scenario in which the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_205"},{"text":"did not confiscate it. Instead, Havana Docks had to prove","paragraph_id":"para_206"},{"text":"only that the cruise lines used confiscated property—such","paragraph_id":"para_207"},{"text":"as the docks—to which Havana Docks owns a claim. We","paragraph_id":"para_208"},{"text":"therefore vacate the Court of Appeals’ decision.","paragraph_id":"para_209"},{"text":"I","paragraph_id":"para_210"},{"text":"A","paragraph_id":"para_211"},{"text":"In 1928, the United States-based Havana Docks Corpo-","paragraph_id":"para_212"},{"text":"ration acquired a property interest, specifically a “usufruc-","paragraph_id":"para_213"},{"text":"tuary concession,” that allowed it to develop and operate","paragraph_id":"para_214"},{"text":"dock facilities at the state-owned Port of Havana. A usu-","paragraph_id":"para_215"},{"text":"fruct is a right to use, enjoy, or profit from another’s prop-","paragraph_id":"para_216"},{"text":"erty, 2 G. Cabanellas de las Cuevas & E. Hoague, Butter-","paragraph_id":"para_217"},{"text":"worths Spanish/English Legal Dictionary 659 (1991); F.","paragraph_id":"para_218"},{"text":"Moore, The Cyclopedic Law Dictionary 1141 (3d ed. 1940),","paragraph_id":"para_219"},{"text":"and a concession is a privilege granted by the government,","paragraph_id":"para_220"},{"text":"Black’s Law Dictionary 361 (rev. 4th ed. 1968). Relying on","paragraph_id":"para_221"},{"text":"this usufructuary concession from the Cuban Government,","paragraph_id":"para_222"},{"text":"Havana Docks completed a large terminal building and","paragraph_id":"para_223"},{"text":"three piers—which we collectively refer to as the “docks”—","paragraph_id":"para_224"},{"text":"at the Port of Havana.","paragraph_id":"para_225"},{"text":"3Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_226"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_227"},{"text":"Havana Docks acquired this property interest with cer-","paragraph_id":"para_228"},{"text":"tain conditions and guarantees. It enjoyed the right to op-","paragraph_id":"para_229"},{"text":"erate and profit from the docks that it completed. Its prop-","paragraph_id":"para_230"},{"text":"erty interest was time-limited and set to expire in 2004.","paragraph_id":"para_231"},{"text":"Havana Docks therefore expected to control, operate, and","paragraph_id":"para_232"},{"text":"profit from the docks for 76 years. At the end of the conces-","paragraph_id":"para_233"},{"text":"sion’s term, the Cuban Government would “replace the con-","paragraph_id":"para_234"},{"text":"cessionaire in possession of the works,” and Havana Docks’","paragraph_id":"para_235"},{"text":"“enjoyment of it and its proceeds” would come to an end. 1","paragraph_id":"para_236"},{"text":"App. 454–455. The Cuban Government agreed that, if it","paragraph_id":"para_237"},{"text":"“expropriated” the docks before 2004, it “w[ould] compen-","paragraph_id":"para_238"},{"text":"sate [Havana Docks] for the value of all works constructed","paragraph_id":"para_239"},{"text":"by it.” Id., at 449.","paragraph_id":"para_240"},{"text":"The Communist Revolution cut Havana Docks’ conces-","paragraph_id":"para_241"},{"text":"sion short without that compensation. After Fidel Castro","paragraph_id":"para_242"},{"text":"seized power in 1959, he declared that “it is fundamental","paragraph_id":"para_243"},{"text":"for the liberation and economic development of our country","paragraph_id":"para_244"},{"text":"to liquidate the [American] commercial or industrial enter-","paragraph_id":"para_245"},{"text":"prises” operating in Cuba. Id., at 483. To that end, the new","paragraph_id":"para_246"},{"text":"Cuban Government decreed that it would forcibly take","paragraph_id":"para_247"},{"text":"American “properties and enterprises located” in Cuba, tar-","paragraph_id":"para_248"},{"text":"geting Havana Docks by name. Id., at 483, 487. Under the","paragraph_id":"para_249"},{"text":"decree, government forces seized the docks in 1960 and con-","paragraph_id":"para_250"},{"text":"fiscated “all” of Havana Docks’ “assets.” Id., at 497–498; see","paragraph_id":"para_251"},{"text":"also id., at 257. These assets included, as relevant here, the","paragraph_id":"para_252"},{"text":"docks that Havana Docks had constructed and its property","paragraph_id":"para_253"},{"text":"interest in those docks. All agree that this action prema-","paragraph_id":"para_254"},{"text":"turely destroyed Havana Docks’ concession in 1960 and, by","paragraph_id":"para_255"},{"text":"extension, its ability to benefit from the docks that it built.","paragraph_id":"para_256"},{"text":"Brief for Respondents 21; 119 F. 4th 1276, 1286 (CA11","paragraph_id":"para_257"},{"text":"2024) (opinion below). The Cuban Government has never","paragraph_id":"para_258"},{"text":"compensated Havana Docks for “the taking of its property,”","paragraph_id":"para_259"},{"text":"and it continues to operate parts of the docks to this day.","paragraph_id":"para_260"},{"text":"Id., at 1283.","paragraph_id":"para_261"},{"text":"4 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_262"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_263"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_264"},{"text":"Havana Docks filed a claim with the Foreign Claims Set-","paragraph_id":"para_265"},{"text":"tlement Commission. Congress had authorized the Com-","paragraph_id":"para_266"},{"text":"mission to determine “the amount and validity of claims . . .","paragraph_id":"para_267"},{"text":"for losses resulting from the nationalization, expropriation,","paragraph_id":"para_268"},{"text":"intervention, or other taking of ” “any property, right, or in-","paragraph_id":"para_269"},{"text":"terest” by the Cuban Government. 22 U. S. C. §§1643a(3),","paragraph_id":"para_270"},{"text":"1643b(a). The Commission concluded that Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_271"},{"text":"had “a concession for the construction and operation of ” the","paragraph_id":"para_272"},{"text":"docks and “real property with all improvements and appur-","paragraph_id":"para_273"},{"text":"tenances located” at the Port. 1 App. 256–257. It also con-","paragraph_id":"para_274"},{"text":"firmed that “the facilities of the company were physically","paragraph_id":"para_275"},{"text":"occupied by agents of the Cuban Government” and that the","paragraph_id":"para_276"},{"text":"Cuban Government had expropriated Havana Docks’ as-","paragraph_id":"para_277"},{"text":"sets. Id., at 257. It therefore certified about $9 million in","paragraph_id":"para_278"},{"text":"losses, plus six percent annual interest. But, despite its cer-","paragraph_id":"para_279"},{"text":"tified losses, Havana Docks lacked any means to obtain","paragraph_id":"para_280"},{"text":"compensation.","paragraph_id":"para_281"},{"text":"B","paragraph_id":"para_282"},{"text":"That began to change in 1996. On February 24 of that","paragraph_id":"para_283"},{"text":"year, Cuban fighter jets shot down two unarmed American","paragraph_id":"para_284"},{"text":"civilian airplanes over international waters. 61 Fed. Reg.","paragraph_id":"para_285"},{"text":"8843 (1996). In response, Congress promptly enacted the","paragraph_id":"para_286"},{"text":"Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act","paragraph_id":"para_287"},{"text":"of 1996, 22 U. S. C. §6021 et seq. Among other things, the","paragraph_id":"para_288"},{"text":"Act codified the longstanding embargo against Cuba and","paragraph_id":"para_289"},{"text":"set conditions for the normalization of relations between","paragraph_id":"para_290"},{"text":"the two countries. §§6032(h), 6061, 6064, 6067(d).","paragraph_id":"para_291"},{"text":"As relevant here, the Act also sought to “deter trafficking","paragraph_id":"para_292"},{"text":"in wrongfully confiscated property.” §6081(11). Congress","paragraph_id":"para_293"},{"text":"found that the Cuban Government had allowed foreign in-","paragraph_id":"para_294"},{"text":"vestors to use confiscated property to secure “badly needed","paragraph_id":"para_295"},{"text":"financial benefit” for the regime, contrary to the American","paragraph_id":"para_296"},{"text":"foreign policy goals of undermining the Castro regime and","paragraph_id":"para_297"},{"text":"compensating United States nationals. §§6081(5), (6). Con-","paragraph_id":"para_298"},{"text":"gress further found that the “international judicial system”","paragraph_id":"para_299"},{"text":"5Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_300"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_301"},{"text":"failed to provide “fully effective remedies . . . for unjust en-","paragraph_id":"para_302"},{"text":"richment from the use of wrongfully confiscated property by","paragraph_id":"para_303"},{"text":". . . private entities.” §6081(8). So, in Title III of the Act,","paragraph_id":"para_304"},{"text":"Congress “endowed” American victims of confiscation “with","paragraph_id":"para_305"},{"text":"a judicial remedy in the courts of the United States.”","paragraph_id":"para_306"},{"text":"§6081(11).","paragraph_id":"para_307"},{"text":"Under Title III, any entity that “traffics in property which","paragraph_id":"para_308"},{"text":"was confiscated by the Cuban Government on or after Jan-","paragraph_id":"para_309"},{"text":"uary 1, 1959, shall be liable to any United States national","paragraph_id":"para_310"},{"text":"who owns the claim to such property.” §§6023(11),","paragraph_id":"para_311"},{"text":"6082(a)(1)(A). Subject to certain exceptions, someone “ ‘traf-","paragraph_id":"para_312"},{"text":"fics’ in confiscated property if ” he “knowingly and inten-","paragraph_id":"para_313"},{"text":"tionally” “sells,” “purchases,” or “uses” the confiscated prop-","paragraph_id":"para_314"},{"text":"erty or “engages in a commercial activity using or otherwise","paragraph_id":"para_315"},{"text":"benefiting from confiscated property” without authorization","paragraph_id":"para_316"},{"text":"from the claimholder. §§6023(13)(A)(i), (ii). “Property” in-","paragraph_id":"para_317"},{"text":"cludes “any property,” including “real, personal, or mixed,","paragraph_id":"para_318"},{"text":"and any present, future, or contingent right, security, or","paragraph_id":"para_319"},{"text":"other interest therein, including any leasehold interest.”","paragraph_id":"para_320"},{"text":"§6023(12)(A). And, “confiscated” refers to the “nationaliza-","paragraph_id":"para_321"},{"text":"tion, expropriation, or other seizure by the Cuban Govern-","paragraph_id":"para_322"},{"text":"ment of ownership or control of property” without compen-","paragraph_id":"para_323"},{"text":"sation, settlement, or return of the property. §6023(4)(A).","paragraph_id":"para_324"},{"text":"To prevail, then, a plaintiff must show that (1) the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_325"},{"text":"Government confiscated property on or after January 1,","paragraph_id":"para_326"},{"text":"1959; (2) the defendant trafficked in the property, such as","paragraph_id":"para_327"},{"text":"by knowingly and intentionally using it without authoriza-","paragraph_id":"para_328"},{"text":"tion; and (3) the plaintiff is a United States national who","paragraph_id":"para_329"},{"text":"owns a claim to the property.1","paragraph_id":"para_330"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_331"},{"text":"1 The definition of “traffics” in Title III includes several exceptions, in-","paragraph_id":"para_332"},{"text":"cluding one for “transactions and uses of property incident to lawful","paragraph_id":"para_333"},{"text":"travel to Cuba, to the extent that such transactions and uses of property","paragraph_id":"para_334"},{"text":"are necessary to the conduct of such travel.” §6023(13)(B)(iii). These","paragraph_id":"para_335"},{"text":"exceptions are not at issue before this Court. See n. 4, infra, at 12.","paragraph_id":"para_336"},{"text":"6 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_337"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_338"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_339"},{"text":"An entity that traffics in confiscated property is liable for","paragraph_id":"para_340"},{"text":"“money damages.” §6082(a)(1)(A). Those damages are pre-","paragraph_id":"para_341"},{"text":"sumptively equal to the amount certified by the Commis-","paragraph_id":"para_342"},{"text":"sion if the plaintiff has a certified claim.","paragraph_id":"para_343"},{"text":"§§6082(a)(1)(A)(i)(I), (2). Title III trebles those damages “if","paragraph_id":"para_344"},{"text":"a United States national owns a claim with respect to that","paragraph_id":"para_345"},{"text":"property which was certified by the” Commission.","paragraph_id":"para_346"},{"text":"§6082(a)(3).","paragraph_id":"para_347"},{"text":"This right of action lay dormant for more than two dec-","paragraph_id":"para_348"},{"text":"ades. The Act authorizes the President to “suspend” the","paragraph_id":"para_349"},{"text":"Title III right of action based on a determination that the","paragraph_id":"para_350"},{"text":"suspension is in the national interest and will “expedite a","paragraph_id":"para_351"},{"text":"transition to democracy in Cuba.” §§6085(c)(1), (2). Presi-","paragraph_id":"para_352"},{"text":"dents Clinton, Bush, and Obama continuously suspended","paragraph_id":"para_353"},{"text":"the right of action from its effective date onward. But, in","paragraph_id":"para_354"},{"text":"May of 2019, President Trump allowed the suspension to","paragraph_id":"para_355"},{"text":"expire, permitting the right of action to go into effect for the","paragraph_id":"para_356"},{"text":"first time. That policy change exposed traffickers in confis-","paragraph_id":"para_357"},{"text":"cated property of United States nationals to Title III liabil-","paragraph_id":"para_358"},{"text":"ity.","paragraph_id":"para_359"},{"text":"C","paragraph_id":"para_360"},{"text":"From 2016 to 2019, respondents—Royal Caribbean","paragraph_id":"para_361"},{"text":"Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, Carnival Corpo-","paragraph_id":"para_362"},{"text":"ration, and MSC Cruises—transported nearly a million","paragraph_id":"para_363"},{"text":"paid passengers to Cuba. These cruise lines paid entities","paragraph_id":"para_364"},{"text":"affiliated with the Cuban Government tens of millions of","paragraph_id":"para_365"},{"text":"dollars to do business in Cuba. They collectively earned","paragraph_id":"para_366"},{"text":"hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue from voyages that","paragraph_id":"para_367"},{"text":"included a stop in Havana. As part of this enterprise, their","paragraph_id":"para_368"},{"text":"cruise ships arrived at the docks that Havana Docks built,","paragraph_id":"para_369"},{"text":"where they embarked and disembarked their passengers.","paragraph_id":"para_370"},{"text":"They continued to do so even after receiving notice of Ha-","paragraph_id":"para_371"},{"text":"vana Docks’ certified claim to the docks.","paragraph_id":"para_372"},{"text":"7Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_373"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_374"},{"text":"D","paragraph_id":"para_375"},{"text":"Shortly after President Trump allowed the suspension of","paragraph_id":"para_376"},{"text":"the right of action to expire in May 2019, Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_377"},{"text":"filed lawsuits against these four cruise lines in the United","paragraph_id":"para_378"},{"text":"States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.","paragraph_id":"para_379"},{"text":"Havana Docks alleged that, between 2016 and 2019, the","paragraph_id":"para_380"},{"text":"cruise lines had trafficked in confiscated property to which","paragraph_id":"para_381"},{"text":"Havana Docks owned a claim.2 The cruise lines did not dis-","paragraph_id":"para_382"},{"text":"pute that they used the docks in question “without the au-","paragraph_id":"para_383"},{"text":"thorization of ” Havana Docks. §6023(13)(A). Instead, the","paragraph_id":"para_384"},{"text":"cruise lines argued they are not liable because Havana","paragraph_id":"para_385"},{"text":"Docks’ property interest in those docks would have expired","paragraph_id":"para_386"},{"text":"in 2004 even if there had been no confiscation, and the","paragraph_id":"para_387"},{"text":"cruise lines “could not have trafficked in a time-limited con-","paragraph_id":"para_388"},{"text":"cession that expired in 2004.” Havana Docks Corp. v. Car-","paragraph_id":"para_389"},{"text":"nival Corp., 592 F. Supp. 3d 1088, 1194 (2022).","paragraph_id":"para_390"},{"text":"The District Court rejected that argument, and, after re-","paragraph_id":"para_391"},{"text":"jecting other defenses not at issue here, entered summary","paragraph_id":"para_392"},{"text":"judgment against all four cruise lines. Id., at 1202–1203.","paragraph_id":"para_393"},{"text":"Because the cruise lines had independently trafficked in the","paragraph_id":"para_394"},{"text":"confiscated property, they were independently liable under","paragraph_id":"para_395"},{"text":"Title III, and the District Court awarded Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_396"},{"text":"more than $100 million from each of the cruise lines.","paragraph_id":"para_397"},{"text":"A divided panel of the United States Court of Appeals for","paragraph_id":"para_398"},{"text":"the Eleventh Circuit reversed. It held that the cruise lines","paragraph_id":"para_399"},{"text":"had not trafficked in confiscated property to which Havana","paragraph_id":"para_400"},{"text":"Docks owned a claim. In its view, courts must “view the","paragraph_id":"para_401"},{"text":"property interest at issue in a Title III action as if there had","paragraph_id":"para_402"},{"text":"been no expropriation and then determine whether the al-","paragraph_id":"para_403"},{"text":"leged conduct constituted trafficking in that interest.” 119","paragraph_id":"para_404"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_405"},{"text":"2 Havana Docks also alleged that Carnival had trafficked in its confis-","paragraph_id":"para_406"},{"text":"cated property from 1996 to 2001, but these allegations are not at issue","paragraph_id":"para_407"},{"text":"here because the Court of Appeals did not address them and instead left","paragraph_id":"para_408"},{"text":"them for the District Court to consider on remand. 119 F. 4th 1276, 1290","paragraph_id":"para_409"},{"text":"(CA11 2024).","paragraph_id":"para_410"},{"text":"8 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_411"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_412"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_413"},{"text":"F. 4th, at 1287. Applying that test, it concluded that, be-","paragraph_id":"para_414"},{"text":"cause “any property interest that Havana Docks had by vir-","paragraph_id":"para_415"},{"text":"tue of th[e] concession ended” in 2004, “the cruise lines’ con-","paragraph_id":"para_416"},{"text":"duct from 2016 to 2019” would not have constituted","paragraph_id":"para_417"},{"text":"trafficking if there had been no confiscation. Id., at 1288.","paragraph_id":"para_418"},{"text":"Its analysis assumed that Havana Docks had to establish","paragraph_id":"para_419"},{"text":"trafficking in the time-limited property interest that had","paragraph_id":"para_420"},{"text":"permitted it to build and operate the docks.","paragraph_id":"para_421"},{"text":"Judge Brasher dissented. In his view, Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_422"},{"text":"could establish liability based on the cruise lines’ trafficking","paragraph_id":"para_423"},{"text":"in the underlying physical property, “the docks—which still","paragraph_id":"para_424"},{"text":"exist, are still in use, and have not expired, ended, or fallen","paragraph_id":"para_425"},{"text":"into the sea.” Id., at 1294. And, he explained, the “major-","paragraph_id":"para_426"},{"text":"ity’s counterfactual analysis—asking what would have hap-","paragraph_id":"para_427"},{"text":"pened to Havana Docks’ docks if they had not been confis-","paragraph_id":"para_428"},{"text":"cated in 1960—is incompatible with the text of the Act.” Id.,","paragraph_id":"para_429"},{"text":"at 1291. Instead, the analysis Title III requires here is","paragraph_id":"para_430"},{"text":"“very simple”: “The Cuban Government stole Havana","paragraph_id":"para_431"},{"text":"Docks’ property—its docks, piers, and other things that it","paragraph_id":"para_432"},{"text":"had the right to operate under its concession.” Id., at 1292.","paragraph_id":"para_433"},{"text":"“And the cruise lines have—all agree—commercially bene-","paragraph_id":"para_434"},{"text":"fited by depositing paying customers on those docks and","paragraph_id":"para_435"},{"text":"piers.” Ibid. So, “the cruise lines trafficked in confiscated","paragraph_id":"para_436"},{"text":"property to which Havana Docks owns a claim.” Ibid.","paragraph_id":"para_437"},{"text":"We granted certiorari. 606 U. S. 1065 (2025).","paragraph_id":"para_438"},{"text":"II","paragraph_id":"para_439"},{"text":"Title III generally makes any person who “traffics in","paragraph_id":"para_440"},{"text":"property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_441"},{"text":". . . liable to any United States national who owns the claim","paragraph_id":"para_442"},{"text":"to such property.” §6082(a)(1)(A). The cruise lines argue","paragraph_id":"para_443"},{"text":"that “[t]he Act demands a one-to-one correspondence be-","paragraph_id":"para_444"},{"text":"tween the property interest confiscated and the property in-","paragraph_id":"para_445"},{"text":"terest trafficked.” Brief for Respondents 20 (emphasis","paragraph_id":"para_446"},{"text":"added). Havana Docks, meanwhile, argues that the Act im-","paragraph_id":"para_447"},{"text":"9Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_448"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_449"},{"text":"poses liability for trafficking in underlying physical prop-","paragraph_id":"para_450"},{"text":"erty, not just interests in property. Reply Brief 1, 3–5. The","paragraph_id":"para_451"},{"text":"dispute before us thus turns on whether the relevant “prop-","paragraph_id":"para_452"},{"text":"erty which was confiscated” must be Havana Docks’ prop-","paragraph_id":"para_453"},{"text":"erty interest in the docks, or whether it could instead be the","paragraph_id":"para_454"},{"text":"docks themselves. We hold that the cruise lines’ use of the","paragraph_id":"para_455"},{"text":"docks is sufficient to establish that they used “property","paragraph_id":"para_456"},{"text":"which was confiscated by the Cuban Government.”","paragraph_id":"para_457"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A). Havana Docks is not required to establish","paragraph_id":"para_458"},{"text":"that the cruise lines used its property interest.","paragraph_id":"para_459"},{"text":"A","paragraph_id":"para_460"},{"text":"Under the plain text of Title III, “property which was con-","paragraph_id":"para_461"},{"text":"fiscated” can be the physical property in which the plaintiff","paragraph_id":"para_462"},{"text":"had an interest, and not just the interest itself. Title III","paragraph_id":"para_463"},{"text":"makes entities liable for trafficking in “any property . . . and","paragraph_id":"para_464"},{"text":"any . . . interest therein” that the Cuban Government con-","paragraph_id":"para_465"},{"text":"fiscated. §§6023(12)(A), 6082(a)(1)(A). The Act’s definition","paragraph_id":"para_466"},{"text":"of “property” thus makes clear that the Act imposes liability","paragraph_id":"para_467"},{"text":"for trafficking in both the physical property and the prop-","paragraph_id":"para_468"},{"text":"erty interests. Accord, post, at 4 (KAGAN, J., dissenting).","paragraph_id":"para_469"},{"text":"Ordinary meaning reinforces that conclusion. The term","paragraph_id":"para_470"},{"text":"“any property,” of course, includes physical things. “Any","paragraph_id":"para_471"},{"text":"external thing over which the rights of possession, use, and","paragraph_id":"para_472"},{"text":"enjoyment are exercised” can be “property.” Black’s Law","paragraph_id":"para_473"},{"text":"Dictionary 1232 (7th ed. 1999) (Black’s). Title III itself pro-","paragraph_id":"para_474"},{"text":"vides examples, including “real” property, §6023(12)(A),","paragraph_id":"para_475"},{"text":"which includes “[l]and and anything . . . attached to” it, id.,","paragraph_id":"para_476"},{"text":"at 1234, and “personal” property, §6023(12)(A), which in-","paragraph_id":"para_477"},{"text":"cludes movable things, id., at 1233.","paragraph_id":"para_478"},{"text":"This Court has recognized that “property” ordinarily can","paragraph_id":"para_479"},{"text":"refer to physical things in which people can have property","paragraph_id":"para_480"},{"text":"interests. When this Court previously considered Castro’s","paragraph_id":"para_481"},{"text":"expropriations, it recognized that “property” can refer to","paragraph_id":"para_482"},{"text":"both physical things and interests in them, noting that the","paragraph_id":"para_483"},{"text":"Cuban Government “nationalize[d] by forced expropriation","paragraph_id":"para_484"},{"text":"10 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_485"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_486"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_487"},{"text":"property . . . in which American nationals had an interest.”","paragraph_id":"para_488"},{"text":"Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U. S. 398, 401","paragraph_id":"para_489"},{"text":"(1964) (emphasis added). For that reason, the Cuban Gov-","paragraph_id":"para_490"},{"text":"ernment could, for example, expropriate “sugar itself ” in","paragraph_id":"para_491"},{"text":"addition to, or “rather than,” “merely contractual rights” re-","paragraph_id":"para_492"},{"text":"lated to the sugar. Id., at 413.","paragraph_id":"para_493"},{"text":"Construing “property which was confiscated” to refer only","paragraph_id":"para_494"},{"text":"to the plaintiff ’s interest in the property would read out of","paragraph_id":"para_495"},{"text":"the Act obvious ways in which people can traffic in confis-","paragraph_id":"para_496"},{"text":"cated property. One traffics, for example, by “us[ing]” con-","paragraph_id":"para_497"},{"text":"fiscated property. §§6023(13)(A)(i), (ii). This form of “traf-","paragraph_id":"para_498"},{"text":"ficking” ordinarily concerns things, not property interests:","paragraph_id":"para_499"},{"text":"One uses land or other physical property, but one does not","paragraph_id":"para_500"},{"text":"ordinarily use someone else’s property interests. If, for ex-","paragraph_id":"para_501"},{"text":"ample, your car is stolen and the thief lets another drive it,","paragraph_id":"para_502"},{"text":"the other uses your car, but he does not use your property","paragraph_id":"para_503"},{"text":"interest in your car. So, requiring “a one-to-one correspond-","paragraph_id":"para_504"},{"text":"ence between the property interest confiscated and the","paragraph_id":"para_505"},{"text":"property interest trafficked,” Brief for Respondents 20 (em-","paragraph_id":"para_506"},{"text":"phasis added), would lead to the surprising result that en-","paragraph_id":"para_507"},{"text":"tities could freely “us[e]” many kinds of confiscated property","paragraph_id":"para_508"},{"text":"without exposure under Title III, contra, §§6023(13)(A)(i),","paragraph_id":"para_509"},{"text":"(ii).","paragraph_id":"para_510"},{"text":"This case illustrates the point. The Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_511"},{"text":"agreed that, if the cruise lines had used the docks before","paragraph_id":"para_512"},{"text":"Havana Docks’ property interest was set to expire, they","paragraph_id":"para_513"},{"text":"could have been liable under the Act. 119 F. 4th, at 1288,","paragraph_id":"para_514"},{"text":"1290. The dissent seems to agree. Post, at 3 (opinion of","paragraph_id":"para_515"},{"text":"KAGAN, J.). Yet no matter when Havana Docks’ property","paragraph_id":"para_516"},{"text":"interest was set to expire, the cruise lines would not have","paragraph_id":"para_517"},{"text":"“used” (or otherwise trafficked in) Havana Docks’ conces-","paragraph_id":"para_518"},{"text":"sion. The cruise lines would have “used”—and trafficked","paragraph_id":"para_519"},{"text":"in—“the docks” themselves. Ibid. But, the use of the docks","paragraph_id":"para_520"},{"text":"would not be enough for liability on the Court of Appeals’","paragraph_id":"para_521"},{"text":"and the dissent’s view. See post, at 4 (“where the only ‘prop-","paragraph_id":"para_522"},{"text":"erty’ confiscated from the plaintiff is an intangible property","paragraph_id":"para_523"},{"text":"11Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_524"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_525"},{"text":"interest, the defendant is liable only if he has trafficked in","paragraph_id":"para_526"},{"text":"that interest”).","paragraph_id":"para_527"},{"text":"We thus conclude that the relevant “property which was","paragraph_id":"para_528"},{"text":"confiscated” is not limited to the plaintiff ’s interest in that","paragraph_id":"para_529"},{"text":"property. “[P]roperty which was confiscated,”","paragraph_id":"para_530"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A), can refer to the physical property in which","paragraph_id":"para_531"},{"text":"the plaintiff had an interest when the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_532"},{"text":"“seiz[ed] . . . control of ” it after January 1, 1959,","paragraph_id":"para_533"},{"text":"§6023(4)(A). Knowingly and intentionally “traffic[king]” in","paragraph_id":"para_534"},{"text":"that physical property by, for example, using it, can lead to","paragraph_id":"para_535"},{"text":"liability under the Act. §§6023(13)(A)(i), 6082(a)(1)(A). In","paragraph_id":"para_536"},{"text":"that way, confiscated property is, as it were, tainted—off","paragraph_id":"para_537"},{"text":"limits—such that anyone who uses the property can be lia-","paragraph_id":"para_538"},{"text":"ble to those who had an interest in the tainted property.3","paragraph_id":"para_539"},{"text":"B","paragraph_id":"para_540"},{"text":"On that understanding of “property,” Havana Docks has","paragraph_id":"para_541"},{"text":"shown that the cruise lines used confiscated property in","paragraph_id":"para_542"},{"text":"which Havana Docks had a property interest and to which","paragraph_id":"para_543"},{"text":"it owns a claim.","paragraph_id":"para_544"},{"text":"The docks are “property which was confiscated.”","paragraph_id":"para_545"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A); 119 F. 4th, at 1294 (Brasher, J., dissenting).","paragraph_id":"para_546"},{"text":"Havana Docks has established that the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_547"},{"text":"confiscated those docks without compensation. In 1960, the","paragraph_id":"para_548"},{"text":"Castro regime expropriated American property, specifically","paragraph_id":"para_549"},{"text":"targeting Havana Docks. 1 App. 483, 487. Then, Castro’s","paragraph_id":"para_550"},{"text":"forces physically took possession of the docks and expelled","paragraph_id":"para_551"},{"text":"Havana Docks’ agents. Id., at 257. The Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_552"},{"text":"therefore “seiz[ed] . . . control of ” the docks, §6023(4)(A)—","paragraph_id":"para_553"},{"text":"the physical property in which Havana Docks had an inter-","paragraph_id":"para_554"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_555"},{"text":"3 This is not to say that property interests are irrelevant for Title III.","paragraph_id":"para_556"},{"text":"A plaintiff can argue that the defendant trafficked in a confiscated prop-","paragraph_id":"para_557"},{"text":"erty interest by, for example, purchasing, selling, or transferring the in-","paragraph_id":"para_558"},{"text":"terest. See §6023(13)(A)(i).","paragraph_id":"para_559"},{"text":"12 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_560"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_561"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_562"},{"text":"est. It follows that the docks are “property which was con-","paragraph_id":"para_563"},{"text":"fiscated by the Cuban Government” after January 1, 1959.","paragraph_id":"para_564"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A). See also infra, at 13–16.","paragraph_id":"para_565"},{"text":"The cruise lines “use[d]” or “engage[d] in commercial ac-","paragraph_id":"para_566"},{"text":"tivity using” the docks. §§6023(13)(A)(i), (ii). It is undis-","paragraph_id":"para_567"},{"text":"puted that when they transported nearly a million paying","paragraph_id":"para_568"},{"text":"passengers to Cuba, the cruise lines “used the docks.” Brief","paragraph_id":"para_569"},{"text":"for Respondents 23; see also Tr. of Oral Arg. 72 (“We have","paragraph_id":"para_570"},{"text":"used the docks”). It is likewise undisputed that they did so","paragraph_id":"para_571"},{"text":"“without the authorization of ” Havana Docks.","paragraph_id":"para_572"},{"text":"§6023(13)(A). So, if the cruise lines did so knowingly and","paragraph_id":"para_573"},{"text":"intentionally, the cruise lines “traffic[ked] in property”—","paragraph_id":"para_574"},{"text":"the docks—“which was confiscated by the Cuban Govern-","paragraph_id":"para_575"},{"text":"ment.” §§6023(13)(A)(i), (ii), 6082(a)(1)(A).4","paragraph_id":"para_576"},{"text":"Finally, Havana Docks is a “United States national who","paragraph_id":"para_577"},{"text":"owns the claim” to the confiscated docks.5 §6082(a)(1)(A).","paragraph_id":"para_578"},{"text":"Although a plaintiff need not have a Commission-certified","paragraph_id":"para_579"},{"text":"claim, §6083(a)(2); Brief for Respondents 24, Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_580"},{"text":"has such a certified claim, which is “conclusive proof ” that","paragraph_id":"para_581"},{"text":"Havana Docks has satisfied this element, §6083(a)(1). The","paragraph_id":"para_582"},{"text":"Commission found that Havana Docks had acquired “a con-","paragraph_id":"para_583"},{"text":"cession for the construction and operation of ” the docks and","paragraph_id":"para_584"},{"text":"“the real property with all improvements and appurte-","paragraph_id":"para_585"},{"text":"nances located” at the Port. 1 App. 256–257. And, the Com-","paragraph_id":"para_586"},{"text":"mission found “that the facilities of [Havana Docks] were","paragraph_id":"para_587"},{"text":"physically occupied by agents of the Cuban Government”","paragraph_id":"para_588"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_589"},{"text":"4 The cruise lines have argued that their use of the docks fell within","paragraph_id":"para_590"},{"text":"the exception to Title III’s definition of “traffics” for “uses of property in-","paragraph_id":"para_591"},{"text":"cident to lawful travel,” §6023(13)(B)(iii), an argument that the District","paragraph_id":"para_592"},{"text":"Court rejected based on the general ban against travel to Cuba for tourist","paragraph_id":"para_593"},{"text":"activities, see 22 U. S. C. §7209(b)(1). Havana Docks Corp. v. Carnival","paragraph_id":"para_594"},{"text":"Corp., 592 F. Supp. 3d 1088, 1173–1174 (SD Fla. 2022). The Court of","paragraph_id":"para_595"},{"text":"Appeals did not reach this issue because of its primary holding, and we","paragraph_id":"para_596"},{"text":"do not address it here. 119 F. 4th, at 1279, n. 1.","paragraph_id":"para_597"},{"text":"5 The Court of Appeals rejected the cruise lines’ argument that Havana","paragraph_id":"para_598"},{"text":"Docks is not a United States national within the meaning of the Act, see","paragraph_id":"para_599"},{"text":"id., at 1281, a holding that is not before us here.","paragraph_id":"para_600"},{"text":"13Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_601"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_602"},{"text":"after the Cuban Government had nationalized Havana","paragraph_id":"para_603"},{"text":"Docks’ assets in 1960. Id., at 257.","paragraph_id":"para_604"},{"text":"* * *","paragraph_id":"para_605"},{"text":"In sum, the Cuban Government seized control of “prop-","paragraph_id":"para_606"},{"text":"erty”—the docks that Havana Docks built—in 1960. At","paragraph_id":"para_607"},{"text":"that point, the docks were tainted as confiscated property,","paragraph_id":"para_608"},{"text":"the “the use of ” which the United States sought to “deter.”","paragraph_id":"para_609"},{"text":"§§6081(8), (11). The cruise lines later used the confiscated","paragraph_id":"para_610"},{"text":"docks—property to which Havana Docks owns a certified","paragraph_id":"para_611"},{"text":"claim—when they transported nearly a million passengers","paragraph_id":"para_612"},{"text":"to Cuba between 2016 and 2019. The Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_613"},{"text":"therefore erred in concluding that Havana Docks failed to","paragraph_id":"para_614"},{"text":"establish these requirements for Title III liability.","paragraph_id":"para_615"},{"text":"III","paragraph_id":"para_616"},{"text":"The Court of Appeals’ analysis below, as well as the","paragraph_id":"para_617"},{"text":"cruise lines’ and dissent’s arguments here, conflict with Ti-","paragraph_id":"para_618"},{"text":"tle III’s text.","paragraph_id":"para_619"},{"text":"A","paragraph_id":"para_620"},{"text":"The Court of Appeals interpreted the Act to demand a","paragraph_id":"para_621"},{"text":"counterfactual analysis. “[T]he way to give effect to the","paragraph_id":"para_622"},{"text":"statutory language (‘traffics in property which was confis-","paragraph_id":"para_623"},{"text":"cated’),” the court said, “is to view the property interest at","paragraph_id":"para_624"},{"text":"issue in a Title III action as if there had been no expropria-","paragraph_id":"para_625"},{"text":"tion and then determine whether the alleged conduct con-","paragraph_id":"para_626"},{"text":"stituted trafficking in that interest.” 119 F. 4th, at 1287.","paragraph_id":"para_627"},{"text":"This approach rested on the premise that “property”","paragraph_id":"para_628"},{"text":"could refer only to present property interests. But, no “Title","paragraph_id":"para_629"},{"text":"III plaintiff ” owns a present property interest “because that","paragraph_id":"para_630"},{"text":"property now belongs to the Cuban Government.” Id., at","paragraph_id":"para_631"},{"text":"1286. After all, the Cuban Government expropriated those","paragraph_id":"para_632"},{"text":"property interests in 1960. See 1 App. 483. In order to re-","paragraph_id":"para_633"},{"text":"solve this tension and “give effect” to its understanding of","paragraph_id":"para_634"},{"text":"the statute, the Court of Appeals had to eliminate the “dis-","paragraph_id":"para_635"},{"text":"torting effect of the confiscation” by assuming that there","paragraph_id":"para_636"},{"text":"14 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_637"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_638"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_639"},{"text":"had been no confiscation and then asking whether the de-","paragraph_id":"para_640"},{"text":"fendant’s use of the property would have interfered with the","paragraph_id":"para_641"},{"text":"owner’s property interest absent the confiscation. 119","paragraph_id":"para_642"},{"text":"F. 4th, at 1287–1288. In this case, the court posited a coun-","paragraph_id":"para_643"},{"text":"terfactual scenario in which the Cuban Government “had","paragraph_id":"para_644"},{"text":"never expropriated” Havana Docks’ concession and then an-","paragraph_id":"para_645"},{"text":"alyzed the defendants’ conduct in that scenario. Id., at","paragraph_id":"para_646"},{"text":"1288. Because the “concession expired in 2004” in this","paragraph_id":"para_647"},{"text":"counterfactual scenario, and Havana Docks would have had","paragraph_id":"para_648"},{"text":"to hand the docks over at that point anyway, the court rea-","paragraph_id":"para_649"},{"text":"soned that the cruise lines’ conduct from 2016 to 2019 did","paragraph_id":"para_650"},{"text":"not violate Havana Docks’ rights and therefore cannot con-","paragraph_id":"para_651"},{"text":"stitute trafficking under Title III. Ibid.","paragraph_id":"para_652"},{"text":"This counterfactual approach is difficult to understand","paragraph_id":"para_653"},{"text":"and apply. If the approach requires courts to assume that","paragraph_id":"para_654"},{"text":"the original rightsholder retained his legal rights, it would","paragraph_id":"para_655"},{"text":"foreclose liability in cases where the text demands it. Sup-","paragraph_id":"para_656"},{"text":"pose that an American owned land; the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_657"},{"text":"expropriated his property interest in the land; the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_658"},{"text":"Government transferred the property interest to a com-","paragraph_id":"para_659"},{"text":"pany; and the company sold it to another company. There","paragraph_id":"para_660"},{"text":"should be no doubt that both companies are liable under","paragraph_id":"para_661"},{"text":"Title III for “traffick[ing] in property which was confis-","paragraph_id":"para_662"},{"text":"cated” from an American, §6082(a)(1)(A): the first, by","paragraph_id":"para_663"},{"text":"“sell[ing]” the property interest, and the second, by “pur-","paragraph_id":"para_664"},{"text":"chas[ing]” it, §6023(13)(A)(i). But if, as the Court of Appeals","paragraph_id":"para_665"},{"text":"suggested, we “treat” the property interest “as if the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_666"},{"text":"Government had never expropriated it,” id., at 1288, then","paragraph_id":"para_667"},{"text":"the American would still own it, in which case the other","paragraph_id":"para_668"},{"text":"companies could not have sold or purchased it. It makes","paragraph_id":"para_669"},{"text":"little sense to “determine whether the alleged conduct con-","paragraph_id":"para_670"},{"text":"stituted trafficking in that interest” because the alleged","paragraph_id":"para_671"},{"text":"conduct—selling and purchasing—cannot occur in the","paragraph_id":"para_672"},{"text":"counterfactual scenario. Id., at 1287. We decline to adopt","paragraph_id":"para_673"},{"text":"an approach that appears to read out of the Act cases of","paragraph_id":"para_674"},{"text":"trafficking that should be in the heartland of Title III.","paragraph_id":"para_675"},{"text":"15Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_676"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_677"},{"text":"On the other hand, if all that the Court of Appeals meant","paragraph_id":"para_678"},{"text":"is that the Act requires that the defendant traffic in the","paragraph_id":"para_679"},{"text":"same property interest that the plaintiff held, then it still","paragraph_id":"para_680"},{"text":"misunderstood the Act. In that case, the Court of Appeals’","paragraph_id":"para_681"},{"text":"analysis simply rested on the assumption that the relevant","paragraph_id":"para_682"},{"text":"confiscated and trafficked-in “property” must be the plain-","paragraph_id":"para_683"},{"text":"tiff ’s original property interest—here, the usufructuary","paragraph_id":"para_684"},{"text":"concession. Id., at 1287–1288. But, as Judge Brasher ex-","paragraph_id":"para_685"},{"text":"plained, “Havana Docks’ theory is that the cruise lines are","paragraph_id":"para_686"},{"text":"using the docks”—the physical property—not that they are","paragraph_id":"para_687"},{"text":"using the property interest. Id., at 1294. And, as we have","paragraph_id":"para_688"},{"text":"explained, the Act allows Havana Docks to proceed on that","paragraph_id":"para_689"},{"text":"theory. See supra, at 9–13. This understanding explains","paragraph_id":"para_690"},{"text":"why a cruise line could have been liable under Title III for","paragraph_id":"para_691"},{"text":"using the docks in 1997, 2001, or 2021, even though the","paragraph_id":"para_692"},{"text":"cruise line would not have used Havana Docks’ interest in","paragraph_id":"para_693"},{"text":"the docks at any of those times.","paragraph_id":"para_694"},{"text":"Title III is simply an antitrafficking right of action. It","paragraph_id":"para_695"},{"text":"recognizes that the effect of the Cuban Government’s expro-","paragraph_id":"para_696"},{"text":"priation was the destruction of the plaintiff ’s interest in the","paragraph_id":"para_697"},{"text":"property. See Black’s 602 (“expropriation” is a “governmen-","paragraph_id":"para_698"},{"text":"tal taking or modification of an individual’s property","paragraph_id":"para_699"},{"text":"rights”); accord, 119 F. 4th, at 1286. It then provides a right","paragraph_id":"para_700"},{"text":"to compensation based on the plaintiff ’s former property in-","paragraph_id":"para_701"},{"text":"terest from those who later traffic in the property and","paragraph_id":"para_702"},{"text":"thereby help to support the Communist Cuban Govern-","paragraph_id":"para_703"},{"text":"ment.","paragraph_id":"para_704"},{"text":"B","paragraph_id":"para_705"},{"text":"The cruise lines make an additional argument for affir-","paragraph_id":"para_706"},{"text":"mance. Havana Docks’ suit fails, the cruise lines contend,","paragraph_id":"para_707"},{"text":"because “the Cuban government did not confiscate the","paragraph_id":"para_708"},{"text":"docks”; it confiscated only the concession. Brief for Re-","paragraph_id":"para_709"},{"text":"spondents 31. The dissent agrees. Post, at 4–5 (opinion of","paragraph_id":"para_710"},{"text":"KAGAN, J.).","paragraph_id":"para_711"},{"text":"16 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_712"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_713"},{"text":"Opinion of the Court","paragraph_id":"para_714"},{"text":"This assertion would have surprised anyone present in","paragraph_id":"para_715"},{"text":"1960 Havana. As explained, the Act defines “confiscat[ion]”","paragraph_id":"para_716"},{"text":"to include the seizure of “ownership or control of property.”","paragraph_id":"para_717"},{"text":"§6023(4)(A) (emphasis added). When armed agents physi-","paragraph_id":"para_718"},{"text":"cally occupied the docks facilities, they seized control of the","paragraph_id":"para_719"},{"text":"docks even if “Cuba owned the docks.” Post, at 4 (opinion of","paragraph_id":"para_720"},{"text":"KAGAN, J.). Before that seizure, the “concessionaire”—Ha-","paragraph_id":"para_721"},{"text":"vana Docks—was “in possession of the works.” 1 App. 454;","paragraph_id":"para_722"},{"text":"Brief for Respondents 32. After the seizure, the Cuban Gov-","paragraph_id":"para_723"},{"text":"ernment stopped Havana Docks from operating, using, en-","paragraph_id":"para_724"},{"text":"joying, possessing, or otherwise “control[ling] the [docks].”","paragraph_id":"para_725"},{"text":"Id., at 23. The Cuban Government thereby extinguished","paragraph_id":"para_726"},{"text":"Havana Docks’ concession and “physically occupied” the","paragraph_id":"para_727"},{"text":"docks, as the Commission found. 1 App. 257. Those actions","paragraph_id":"para_728"},{"text":"constitute confiscation of the docks under Title III.6","paragraph_id":"para_729"},{"text":"IV","paragraph_id":"para_730"},{"text":"We conclude that the cruise lines used confiscated prop-","paragraph_id":"para_731"},{"text":"erty to which Havana Docks owns the claim. Because the","paragraph_id":"para_732"},{"text":"Court of Appeals concluded otherwise, it did not reach the","paragraph_id":"para_733"},{"text":"cruise lines’ remaining arguments against liability. Those","paragraph_id":"para_734"},{"text":"arguments are not before us and we do not address them.","paragraph_id":"para_735"},{"text":"Accordingly, we vacate the judgment of the Court of Ap-","paragraph_id":"para_736"},{"text":"peals and remand for further proceedings consistent with","paragraph_id":"para_737"},{"text":"this opinion.","paragraph_id":"para_738"},{"text":"It is so ordered.","paragraph_id":"para_739"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_740"},{"text":"6 The dissent seemingly does not dispute that the Cuban Government","paragraph_id":"para_741"},{"text":"seized control of the docks. See, post, at 4–5. After all, Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_742"},{"text":"controlled the docks, then “armed officers” took them over. Post, at 4.","paragraph_id":"para_743"},{"text":"Congress defined “confiscat[ion]” in the statute to include “seizure by the","paragraph_id":"para_744"},{"text":"Cuban Government of . . . control of property.” §6023(4)(A). “When a","paragraph_id":"para_745"},{"text":"statute includes an explicit definition, we must follow that definition.”","paragraph_id":"para_746"},{"text":"Tanzin v. Tanvir, 592 U. S. 43, 47 (2020) (internal quotation marks omit-","paragraph_id":"para_747"},{"text":"ted). Under the statutory definition, the dissent’s theory has the surpris-","paragraph_id":"para_748"},{"text":"ing consequence that it is not “possible” for a landlord to prematurely","paragraph_id":"para_749"},{"text":"seize control of “property it always owned” from a “renter with a lease.”","paragraph_id":"para_750"},{"text":"Post, at 2, 5.","paragraph_id":"para_751"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_752"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_753"},{"text":"1Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_754"},{"text":"SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring","paragraph_id":"para_755"},{"text":"SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES","paragraph_id":"para_756"},{"text":"No. 24–983","paragraph_id":"para_757"},{"text":"HAVANA DOCKS CORPORATION, PETITIONER v.","paragraph_id":"para_758"},{"text":"ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, LTD., ET AL.","paragraph_id":"para_759"},{"text":"ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF","paragraph_id":"para_760"},{"text":"APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT","paragraph_id":"para_761"},{"text":"[May 21, 2026]","paragraph_id":"para_762"},{"text":"JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR, with whom JUSTICE KAVANAUGH","paragraph_id":"para_763"},{"text":"joins, concurring.","paragraph_id":"para_764"},{"text":"I agree with the Court’s resolution of the narrow question","paragraph_id":"para_765"},{"text":"before it and join the majority opinion in full. I write to","paragraph_id":"para_766"},{"text":"highlight two issues that the Court does not reach but that","paragraph_id":"para_767"},{"text":"raise significant concerns for remand or in other future Ti-","paragraph_id":"para_768"},{"text":"tle III cases.","paragraph_id":"para_769"},{"text":"First, petitioner’s reading of Title III, if adopted, could al-","paragraph_id":"para_770"},{"text":"low it to recover a potentially unlimited amount of money","paragraph_id":"para_771"},{"text":"from an unlimited number of people who use the confiscated","paragraph_id":"para_772"},{"text":"docks at issue. Here, the Foreign Claims Settlement Com-","paragraph_id":"para_773"},{"text":"mission (Commission) certified that, in 1960, petitioner lost","paragraph_id":"para_774"},{"text":"around $9 million from the confiscation of the docks. Ante,","paragraph_id":"para_775"},{"text":"at 4. The District Court determined that, under Title III,","paragraph_id":"para_776"},{"text":"each of the four cruise lines in this case was liable to peti-","paragraph_id":"para_777"},{"text":"tioner for $110 million (after trebling the certified loss plus","paragraph_id":"para_778"},{"text":"more than a half-century’s worth of interest, and awarding","paragraph_id":"para_779"},{"text":"additional legal fees and costs).","paragraph_id":"para_780"},{"text":"On petitioner’s interpretation of Title III, however, those","paragraph_id":"para_781"},{"text":"awards could be just the beginning. Title III specifies that","paragraph_id":"para_782"},{"text":"“any person that . . . traffics in property which was confis-","paragraph_id":"para_783"},{"text":"cated by the Cuban Government . . . shall be liable” for no","paragraph_id":"para_784"},{"text":"less than the value of the claim certified by the Commission,","paragraph_id":"para_785"},{"text":"plus interest. 22 U. S. C. §6082(a)(1)(A)(i). Below, peti-","paragraph_id":"para_786"},{"text":"tioner defended the District Court’s awards by arguing, in","paragraph_id":"para_787"},{"text":"2 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_788"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_789"},{"text":"SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring","paragraph_id":"para_790"},{"text":"essence, that “any person” really means “each person,” so","paragraph_id":"para_791"},{"text":"that each cruise line is liable for the full amount.","paragraph_id":"para_792"},{"text":"If petitioner is correct, then petitioner potentially could","paragraph_id":"para_793"},{"text":"recover $110 million from every person who uses the docks","paragraph_id":"para_794"},{"text":"in any way. Here, petitioner sued four cruise lines who used","paragraph_id":"para_795"},{"text":"the docks, but on its theory, nothing would prevent it from","paragraph_id":"para_796"},{"text":"recovering even more if other cruise lines had used the","paragraph_id":"para_797"},{"text":"docks in the past or if any cruise line uses them again in the","paragraph_id":"para_798"},{"text":"future. Nor would petitioner necessarily be limited to one","paragraph_id":"para_799"},{"text":"recovery against each cruise line. It could possibly seek to","paragraph_id":"para_800"},{"text":"recover the full $110 million against respondents for each","paragraph_id":"para_801"},{"text":"individual cruise; each docking, after all, was potentially an","paragraph_id":"para_802"},{"text":"independent instance of trafficking. See 28 U. S. C.","paragraph_id":"para_803"},{"text":"§1603(d) (defining “commercial activity” to mean “either a","paragraph_id":"para_804"},{"text":"regular course of commercial conduct or a particular com-","paragraph_id":"para_805"},{"text":"mercial transaction or act”); 22 U. S. C. §6023(3) (incorpo-","paragraph_id":"para_806"},{"text":"rating that definition); see also §6023(13)(A)(ii); but see","paragraph_id":"para_807"},{"text":"§6082(f )(1)(A) (appearing to limit plaintiffs to one suit per","paragraph_id":"para_808"},{"text":"“subject matter”). Liability could even theoretically extend","paragraph_id":"para_809"},{"text":"to third-party retailers aboard respondents’ ships, mainte-","paragraph_id":"para_810"},{"text":"nance contractors at respondents’ dockyards, and even the","paragraph_id":"para_811"},{"text":"nearly one million passengers who paid respondents to sail","paragraph_id":"para_812"},{"text":"to Cuba, all of whom arguably “engage[d] in a commercial","paragraph_id":"para_813"},{"text":"activity using or otherwise benefiting from” the confiscated","paragraph_id":"para_814"},{"text":"docks or “participate[d] in” respondents’ commercial activi-","paragraph_id":"para_815"},{"text":"ties. §§6023(13)(A)(ii)–(iii). In short, this limitless reading","paragraph_id":"para_816"},{"text":"of the statute could permit petitioner to recover millions, if","paragraph_id":"para_817"},{"text":"not billions, of dollars over and over again, so long as any-","paragraph_id":"para_818"},{"text":"one continues to make any commercial use of the docks.","paragraph_id":"para_819"},{"text":"It is unlikely that Congress intended for someone who","paragraph_id":"para_820"},{"text":"suffered a finite loss to reap infinite recoveries. Congress","paragraph_id":"para_821"},{"text":"defined “confiscated” property to mean property that was","paragraph_id":"para_822"},{"text":"seized by the Cuban Government “without the property","paragraph_id":"para_823"},{"text":"having been returned or adequate and effective compensa-","paragraph_id":"para_824"},{"text":"tion provided.” §6023(4)(A)(i). Congress also created the","paragraph_id":"para_825"},{"text":"Commission and tasked it with assessing the value of","paragraph_id":"para_826"},{"text":"3Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_827"},{"text":"SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring","paragraph_id":"para_828"},{"text":"claims stemming from the Cuban Government’s confisca-","paragraph_id":"para_829"},{"text":"tions and made the Commission-certified value a presump-","paragraph_id":"para_830"},{"text":"tive measure of a Title III plaintiff ’s recovery. Ante, at 4, 6;","paragraph_id":"para_831"},{"text":"see §6082(a)(1)(A)(i). That statutory scheme suggests that","paragraph_id":"para_832"},{"text":"Congress intended for the Commission’s certification to","paragraph_id":"para_833"},{"text":"supply a benchmark for adequate compensation; it does not","paragraph_id":"para_834"},{"text":"expressly authorize repeatedly recovering the Commission-","paragraph_id":"para_835"},{"text":"certified amount. Furthermore, if the statute is read the","paragraph_id":"para_836"},{"text":"way petitioner suggests, then Title III’s remedies could po-","paragraph_id":"para_837"},{"text":"tentially violate the Due Process Clause to the extent that","paragraph_id":"para_838"},{"text":"the statute imposes penalties against individual defend-","paragraph_id":"para_839"},{"text":"ants that are “so severe and oppressive as to be wholly dis-","paragraph_id":"para_840"},{"text":"proportioned to the offense and obviously unreasonable.”","paragraph_id":"para_841"},{"text":"St. Louis, I. M. & S. R. Co. v. Williams, 251 U. S. 63, 66–67","paragraph_id":"para_842"},{"text":"(1919).","paragraph_id":"para_843"},{"text":"Second, there is a significant question as to whether re-","paragraph_id":"para_844"},{"text":"spondents’ conduct fell within a statutory exception to Title","paragraph_id":"para_845"},{"text":"III liability for “transactions and uses of property incident","paragraph_id":"para_846"},{"text":"to lawful travel to Cuba.” §6023(13)(B)(iii); see ante, at 5,","paragraph_id":"para_847"},{"text":"n. 1, 12, n. 4 (declining to address this exception). Indeed,","paragraph_id":"para_848"},{"text":"the Federal Government appears to have previously taken","paragraph_id":"para_849"},{"text":"the position that these cruises were lawful and beneficial to","paragraph_id":"para_850"},{"text":"both Cuba and the United States.","paragraph_id":"para_851"},{"text":"For example, in 2016, President Obama announced at a","paragraph_id":"para_852"},{"text":"joint press conference with Cuban President Raúl Castro","paragraph_id":"para_853"},{"text":"that the United States Government had “removed the last","paragraph_id":"para_854"},{"text":"major hurdle to resuming cruises and ferry service,” which","paragraph_id":"para_855"},{"text":"would “mean even more Americans visiting Cuba in the","paragraph_id":"para_856"},{"text":"years ahead and appreciating the incredible history and","paragraph_id":"para_857"},{"text":"culture of the Cuban people.”* The Office of Foreign Assets","paragraph_id":"para_858"},{"text":"Control (OFAC), which administers and enforces sanctions","paragraph_id":"para_859"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_860"},{"text":"*Remarks by President Obama and President Raúl Castro of Cuba in","paragraph_id":"para_861"},{"text":"a Joint Press Conference, The Obama White House (Mar. 21, 2016),","paragraph_id":"para_862"},{"text":"https://obamawhitehouse. archives . gov / the - press - office / 2016 / 03 / 21/","paragraph_id":"para_863"},{"text":"remarks-president-obama-and-president-raul-castro-cuba-joint-press","paragraph_id":"para_864"},{"text":"(archived at perma.cc/2JA3-NTP7).","paragraph_id":"para_865"},{"text":"4 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_866"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_867"},{"text":"SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring","paragraph_id":"para_868"},{"text":"by the United States against Cuba, also granted one re-","paragraph_id":"para_869"},{"text":"spondent a license that specifically authorized “carrier ser-","paragraph_id":"para_870"},{"text":"vices by vessel to, from, or within Cuba in connection with","paragraph_id":"para_871"},{"text":"travel or transportation between the United States and","paragraph_id":"para_872"},{"text":"Cuba.” App. 570. OFAC later amended its regulations “to","paragraph_id":"para_873"},{"text":"authorize persons subject to U. S. jurisdiction to provide","paragraph_id":"para_874"},{"text":"carrier services by vessel, without the need for specific li-","paragraph_id":"para_875"},{"text":"censes.” 80 Fed. Reg. 56916 (2015). Further, the State De-","paragraph_id":"para_876"},{"text":"partment previously informed petitioner that it would not","paragraph_id":"para_877"},{"text":"bring enforcement actions against respondents because of","paragraph_id":"para_878"},{"text":"“the clear exclusion” from the definition of “ ‘traffics’ ” that","paragraph_id":"para_879"},{"text":"shields “transactions and uses of property incident to lawful","paragraph_id":"para_880"},{"text":"travel to Cuba.” App. 834.","paragraph_id":"para_881"},{"text":"To be sure, as petitioner argued below, at the same time","paragraph_id":"para_882"},{"text":"the Government made these statements, it also warned re-","paragraph_id":"para_883"},{"text":"spondents that their activities had to comply with any ap-","paragraph_id":"para_884"},{"text":"plicable regulations and could not exceed the scope of the","paragraph_id":"para_885"},{"text":"licenses provided to them. See, e.g., id., at 570–572 (em-","paragraph_id":"para_886"},{"text":"phasizing additional restrictions on cruises); id., at 869–875","paragraph_id":"para_887"},{"text":"(cautionary letter issued by OFAC). Even so, as the United","paragraph_id":"para_888"},{"text":"States explained at argument, “[t]o the extent that Re-","paragraph_id":"para_889"},{"text":"spondents received assurances from appropriate govern-","paragraph_id":"para_890"},{"text":"ment officials that what they were doing was lawful and","paragraph_id":"para_891"},{"text":"authorized,” holding them liable for that conduct could","paragraph_id":"para_892"},{"text":"“raise due process concerns.” Tr. of Oral Arg. 57–58.","paragraph_id":"para_893"},{"text":"As neither the infinite-recovery issue nor the lawful-","paragraph_id":"para_894"},{"text":"travel issue was fairly included within the question pre-","paragraph_id":"para_895"},{"text":"sented, the Court appropriately does not address either one","paragraph_id":"para_896"},{"text":"here. See this Court’s Rule 14.1(a). The Court also cor-","paragraph_id":"para_897"},{"text":"rectly expresses no view as to other issues unaddressed by","paragraph_id":"para_898"},{"text":"the Eleventh Circuit, such as respondents’ argument that","paragraph_id":"para_899"},{"text":"petitioner’s concession was nonexclusive and limited to","paragraph_id":"para_900"},{"text":"cargo services, Brief for Respondents 34, and respondents’","paragraph_id":"para_901"},{"text":"argument that the Commission’s certification violates due","paragraph_id":"para_902"},{"text":"process or the Seventh Amendment, id., at 40–42. To the","paragraph_id":"para_903"},{"text":"extent any of these or other issues remain and are properly","paragraph_id":"para_904"},{"text":"5Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_905"},{"text":"SOTOMAYOR, J., concurring","paragraph_id":"para_906"},{"text":"preserved, the Eleventh Circuit should address them in the","paragraph_id":"para_907"},{"text":"first instance on remand.","paragraph_id":"para_908"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_909"},{"text":"_________________","paragraph_id":"para_910"},{"text":"1Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_911"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_912"},{"text":"SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES","paragraph_id":"para_913"},{"text":"No. 24–983","paragraph_id":"para_914"},{"text":"HAVANA DOCKS CORPORATION, PETITIONER v.","paragraph_id":"para_915"},{"text":"ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES, LTD., ET AL.","paragraph_id":"para_916"},{"text":"ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF","paragraph_id":"para_917"},{"text":"APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT","paragraph_id":"para_918"},{"text":"[May 21, 2026]","paragraph_id":"para_919"},{"text":"JUSTICE KAGAN, dissenting.","paragraph_id":"para_920"},{"text":"Today the Court misconstrues the Cuban Liberty and","paragraph_id":"para_921"},{"text":"Democratic Solidarity Act to allow plaintiffs to recover for","paragraph_id":"para_922"},{"text":"trafficking in property that was not theirs. Title III of that","paragraph_id":"para_923"},{"text":"Act provides that “any person” that “traffics in property","paragraph_id":"para_924"},{"text":"which was confiscated by the Cuban Government on or af-","paragraph_id":"para_925"},{"text":"ter January 1, 1959, shall be liable to any United States","paragraph_id":"para_926"},{"text":"national who owns the claim to such property.” 22 U. S. C.","paragraph_id":"para_927"},{"text":"§6082(a)(1)(A). The majority holds that because four com-","paragraph_id":"para_928"},{"text":"mercial cruise lines used docks in the Port of Havana be-","paragraph_id":"para_929"},{"text":"tween 2016 and 2019, they can be held liable to Havana","paragraph_id":"para_930"},{"text":"Docks Corporation, a U. S. company that built, operated,","paragraph_id":"para_931"},{"text":"and once held a property interest in those docks. That may","paragraph_id":"para_932"},{"text":"seem sensible at first blush. But there is a problem: The","paragraph_id":"para_933"},{"text":"docks are not “property which was confiscated by the Cuban","paragraph_id":"para_934"},{"text":"Government” within the meaning of Title III. Why? Be-","paragraph_id":"para_935"},{"text":"cause the docks belonged to the Cuban Government—not","paragraph_id":"para_936"},{"text":"Havana Docks—all along. What Havana Docks owned was","paragraph_id":"para_937"},{"text":"only a property interest allowing it to use those docks for a","paragraph_id":"para_938"},{"text":"specified time. And that time-limited interest expired in","paragraph_id":"para_939"},{"text":"2004—more than a decade before the cruise lines ever used","paragraph_id":"para_940"},{"text":"the docks.","paragraph_id":"para_941"},{"text":"The key to getting this case right is understanding the","paragraph_id":"para_942"},{"text":"nature of the property interest that Havana Docks once","paragraph_id":"para_943"},{"text":"held in the docks. In 1905, the Cuban Government granted","paragraph_id":"para_944"},{"text":"2 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_945"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_946"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_947"},{"text":"Compañia del Puerto a 50-year “usufructuary concession”","paragraph_id":"para_948"},{"text":"so that it could build and then operate docks at the Port of","paragraph_id":"para_949"},{"text":"Havana. See 119 F. 4th 1276, 1278, 1281 (CA11 2024). As","paragraph_id":"para_950"},{"text":"the majority explains, a “usufruct” is a “right to use, enjoy,","paragraph_id":"para_951"},{"text":"or profit from another’s property” (here, Cuba’s property in","paragraph_id":"para_952"},{"text":"the Port), and a “concession” is a “privilege granted by the","paragraph_id":"para_953"},{"text":"government” (here, the Cuban Government). Ante, at 2. So","paragraph_id":"para_954"},{"text":"the deal struck was this: Compañia del Puerto would build","paragraph_id":"para_955"},{"text":"docks for Cuba at the Port and, in exchange, Cuba would let","paragraph_id":"para_956"},{"text":"the company operate those docks for a limited time. Later,","paragraph_id":"para_957"},{"text":"that usufructuary concession was assigned to Havana","paragraph_id":"para_958"},{"text":"Docks and extended to 99 years, meaning that it would ex-","paragraph_id":"para_959"},{"text":"pire in 2004. So Havana Docks’ property interest in the","paragraph_id":"para_960"},{"text":"docks, like its predecessor’s, was a time-limited one. Before","paragraph_id":"para_961"},{"text":"2004, Havana Docks had a right to make use of the docks,","paragraph_id":"para_962"},{"text":"even though they belonged to Cuba; after 2004, the com-","paragraph_id":"para_963"},{"text":"pany had no right to anything. You might think of Havana","paragraph_id":"para_964"},{"text":"Docks as a renter with a lease set to expire in 2004.","paragraph_id":"para_965"},{"text":"Everyone agrees that Havana Docks did not get all it was","paragraph_id":"para_966"},{"text":"promised. That is because in 1960, 44 years before the con-","paragraph_id":"para_967"},{"text":"cession was to expire, Cuba issued a decree nationalizing","paragraph_id":"para_968"},{"text":"Havana Docks’ assets and sent armed agents to physically","paragraph_id":"para_969"},{"text":"occupy the docks. Those actions “prematurely destroyed","paragraph_id":"para_970"},{"text":"Havana Docks’ concession” and, “by extension, its ability to","paragraph_id":"para_971"},{"text":"benefit from the docks.” Ante, at 3. The Foreign Claims","paragraph_id":"para_972"},{"text":"Settlement Commission confirmed as much, finding that","paragraph_id":"para_973"},{"text":"Cuba had seized from Havana Docks a concession for the","paragraph_id":"para_974"},{"text":"“operation of wharves and warehouses in the harbor of Ha-","paragraph_id":"para_975"},{"text":"vana,” which was “to expire in the year 2004,” as well as","paragraph_id":"para_976"},{"text":"associated “equipment, furniture and fixtures.” App. to Pet.","paragraph_id":"para_977"},{"text":"for Cert. 138a, 141a. The Commission thus certified about","paragraph_id":"para_978"},{"text":"$9 million in losses, plus six percent annual interest. Cuba","paragraph_id":"para_979"},{"text":"has never compensated Havana Docks for that harm.","paragraph_id":"para_980"},{"text":"But the question in this case is not whether Cuba should","paragraph_id":"para_981"},{"text":"pay Havana Docks for depriving it of 44 years of its conces-","paragraph_id":"para_982"},{"text":"sion; the question is instead whether cruise lines using the","paragraph_id":"para_983"},{"text":"3Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_984"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_985"},{"text":"docks twelve years after the concession’s expiration date","paragraph_id":"para_986"},{"text":"are liable to Havana Docks under Title III. And the answer","paragraph_id":"para_987"},{"text":"to that question is no. Recall what the statute says: “[A]ny","paragraph_id":"para_988"},{"text":"person” that “traffics in property which was confiscated by","paragraph_id":"para_989"},{"text":"the Cuban Government on or after January 1, 1959, shall","paragraph_id":"para_990"},{"text":"be liable to any United States national who owns the claim","paragraph_id":"para_991"},{"text":"to such property.” §6082(a)(1)(A) (emphasis added). The","paragraph_id":"para_992"},{"text":"“property which was confiscated” from Havana Docks is a","paragraph_id":"para_993"},{"text":"time-limited concession. We know that is the “property","paragraph_id":"para_994"},{"text":"which was confiscated” because that is the only property","paragraph_id":"para_995"},{"text":"Havana Docks ever owned—and thus the only property","paragraph_id":"para_996"},{"text":"Cuba could have confiscated from it. So to hold the cruise","paragraph_id":"para_997"},{"text":"lines liable, Havana Docks must show that they “traf-","paragraph_id":"para_998"},{"text":"fic[ked] in” its time-limited concession. Had the cruise lines","paragraph_id":"para_999"},{"text":"used the docks before 2004, Havana Docks would have a","paragraph_id":"para_1000"},{"text":"good argument that they did so. But the cruise lines did not","paragraph_id":"para_1001"},{"text":"use the docks until 2016—years after Havana Docks’ con-","paragraph_id":"para_1002"},{"text":"cession was scheduled to expire. Given that fact, the cruise","paragraph_id":"para_1003"},{"text":"lines did not “traffic in” the “property which was confis-","paragraph_id":"para_1004"},{"text":"cated” from Havana Docks and so are not liable to it under","paragraph_id":"para_1005"},{"text":"Title III.","paragraph_id":"para_1006"},{"text":"The Court reaches the opposite conclusion because it be-","paragraph_id":"para_1007"},{"text":"lieves that the “property which was confiscated” in this case","paragraph_id":"para_1008"},{"text":"includes the physical docks themselves. See ante, at 11.","paragraph_id":"para_1009"},{"text":"The majority believes that not because it thinks the physi-","paragraph_id":"para_1010"},{"text":"cal docks ever belonged to Havana Docks. On the contrary,","paragraph_id":"para_1011"},{"text":"the majority acknowledges that Havana Docks’ sole “prop-","paragraph_id":"para_1012"},{"text":"erty interest was time-limited and set to expire in 2004.”","paragraph_id":"para_1013"},{"text":"Ante, at 3. But as the majority sees it, when Title III says","paragraph_id":"para_1014"},{"text":"“property which was confiscated,” it means not just the","paragraph_id":"para_1015"},{"text":"property interest that was actually confiscated from the","paragraph_id":"para_1016"},{"text":"plaintiff (here, the time-limited concession), but also “the","paragraph_id":"para_1017"},{"text":"physical property in which the plaintiff had an interest”","paragraph_id":"para_1018"},{"text":"(here, the physical docks). Ante, at 9, 10–11. There are","paragraph_id":"para_1019"},{"text":"three related problems with that theory of the case.","paragraph_id":"para_1020"},{"text":"4 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_1021"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_1022"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_1023"},{"text":"First, it misreads the statute Congress wrote. Congress","paragraph_id":"para_1024"},{"text":"could have imposed liability on “any person” that “traffics","paragraph_id":"para_1025"},{"text":"in property in which a United States national held an inter-","paragraph_id":"para_1026"},{"text":"est which was confiscated.” If so, the majority’s result","paragraph_id":"para_1027"},{"text":"would follow. But that is not what Title III says. Instead,","paragraph_id":"para_1028"},{"text":"the statute imposes liability on “any person” that “traffics","paragraph_id":"para_1029"},{"text":"in property which was confiscated,” period. §6082(a)(1)(A).","paragraph_id":"para_1030"},{"text":"So, where the only “property” confiscated from the plaintiff","paragraph_id":"para_1031"},{"text":"is an intangible property interest, the defendant is liable","paragraph_id":"para_1032"},{"text":"only if he has trafficked in that interest. Trafficking in the","paragraph_id":"para_1033"},{"text":"underlying physical thing is not enough, because doing so","paragraph_id":"para_1034"},{"text":"is not trafficking in the “property which was confiscated.”","paragraph_id":"para_1035"},{"text":"Of course, the majority is right that, by defining “property”","paragraph_id":"para_1036"},{"text":"to include both physical things and intangible interests, the","paragraph_id":"para_1037"},{"text":"Act “makes clear” that liability can be imposed for traffick-","paragraph_id":"para_1038"},{"text":"ing in either. Ante, at 9; see §6023(12)(A) (“The term ‘prop-","paragraph_id":"para_1039"},{"text":"erty’ means any property . . . , whether real, personal, or","paragraph_id":"para_1040"},{"text":"mixed, and any present, future, or contingent right, secu-","paragraph_id":"para_1041"},{"text":"rity, or other interest therein, including any leasehold in-","paragraph_id":"para_1042"},{"text":"terest”). But that fact does not help the majority’s cause. It","paragraph_id":"para_1043"},{"text":"means that where the “property” confiscated from the plain-","paragraph_id":"para_1044"},{"text":"tiff is a physical thing, liability can attach for trafficking in","paragraph_id":"para_1045"},{"text":"that thing. It does not mean (as the majority seems to","paragraph_id":"para_1046"},{"text":"think) that where the “property” confiscated from the plain-","paragraph_id":"para_1047"},{"text":"tiff is an intangible interest, liability can attach for traffick-","paragraph_id":"para_1048"},{"text":"ing in something other than that interest—that is, in the","paragraph_id":"para_1049"},{"text":"underlying physical thing. Always, according to the stat-","paragraph_id":"para_1050"},{"text":"ute, trafficking can give rise to liability only when it is in","paragraph_id":"para_1051"},{"text":"the actual “property which was confiscated.”","paragraph_id":"para_1052"},{"text":"Second, the docks are not “property which was confis-","paragraph_id":"para_1053"},{"text":"cated by the Cuban Government” because they were not, in","paragraph_id":"para_1054"},{"text":"fact, confiscated by the Cuban Government; rather, Cuba","paragraph_id":"para_1055"},{"text":"owned the docks all along. True enough that in 1960, the","paragraph_id":"para_1056"},{"text":"Cuban Government issued a decree expropriating Havana","paragraph_id":"para_1057"},{"text":"Docks’ assets and sent armed officers to physically occupy","paragraph_id":"para_1058"},{"text":"the docks. That is how Cuba confiscated Havana Docks’","paragraph_id":"para_1059"},{"text":"5Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_1060"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_1061"},{"text":"usufructuary concession. But in taking those measures,","paragraph_id":"para_1062"},{"text":"Cuba did not somehow confiscate the docks, because the","paragraph_id":"para_1063"},{"text":"docks already belonged to Cuba. The majority emphasizes","paragraph_id":"para_1064"},{"text":"that the Act defines “confiscat[ion]” to include seizing “con-","paragraph_id":"para_1065"},{"text":"trol of property” and argues that Cuba’s actions fit that de-","paragraph_id":"para_1066"},{"text":"scription because Cuba seized “control” of the docks. See","paragraph_id":"para_1067"},{"text":"ante, at 15–16. But nothing in the Act’s definition—more","paragraph_id":"para_1068"},{"text":"fully stated, “the nationalization, expropriation, or other","paragraph_id":"para_1069"},{"text":"seizure by the Cuban Government of ownership or control","paragraph_id":"para_1070"},{"text":"of property, on or after January 1, 1959,” §6023(4)(A)—","paragraph_id":"para_1071"},{"text":"makes it possible for Cuba to confiscate property it always","paragraph_id":"para_1072"},{"text":"owned (and Havana Docks never did). The definition’s in-","paragraph_id":"para_1073"},{"text":"clusion of seizure of “control” just means that Cuba can","paragraph_id":"para_1074"},{"text":"“confiscate[ ]” property belonging to someone else by seizing","paragraph_id":"para_1075"},{"text":"“control” of it, even if ownership does not change hands. So,","paragraph_id":"para_1076"},{"text":"for example, if Havana Docks had owned the docks and","paragraph_id":"para_1077"},{"text":"Cuba had taken “control” of them without obtaining title,","paragraph_id":"para_1078"},{"text":"that would still have counted as “confiscat[ion].” But that","paragraph_id":"para_1079"},{"text":"is not what happened here—because, again, Havana Docks","paragraph_id":"para_1080"},{"text":"owned not the docks themselves, but only a time-limited in-","paragraph_id":"para_1081"},{"text":"terest in using them.*","paragraph_id":"para_1082"},{"text":"Finally, the majority’s approach ignores basic principles","paragraph_id":"para_1083"},{"text":"of property law. As every first-year law student learns,","paragraph_id":"para_1084"},{"text":"“property” is defined by reference not just to spatial bound-","paragraph_id":"para_1085"},{"text":"aries, but also to temporal ones. Cf. Tahoe-Sierra Preserva-","paragraph_id":"para_1086"},{"text":"tion Council, Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, 535","paragraph_id":"para_1087"},{"text":"U. S. 302, 331–332 (2002) (“An interest in real property is","paragraph_id":"para_1088"},{"text":"defined by the metes and bounds that describe its","paragraph_id":"para_1089"},{"text":"——————","paragraph_id":"para_1090"},{"text":"*The majority is wrong to say that this view “has the surprising con-","paragraph_id":"para_1091"},{"text":"sequence that it is not ‘possible’ for a landlord to prematurely seize con-","paragraph_id":"para_1092"},{"text":"trol of ‘property it always owned’ from a ‘renter with a lease.’ ” Ante, at","paragraph_id":"para_1093"},{"text":"16, n. 6. A landlord could of course prematurely take control of physical","paragraph_id":"para_1094"},{"text":"property (say, a house) that he owns but is leasing to a renter. It is just","paragraph_id":"para_1095"},{"text":"that, when the landlord does so, what he confiscates is not the house—","paragraph_id":"para_1096"},{"text":"which he already owns—but the lease alone, with its scheduled expira-","paragraph_id":"para_1097"},{"text":"tion date.","paragraph_id":"para_1098"},{"text":"6 HAVANA DOCKS CORP. v. ROYAL CARIBBEAN","paragraph_id":"para_1099"},{"text":"CRUISES, LTD.","paragraph_id":"para_1100"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_1101"},{"text":"geographic dimensions and the term of years that describes","paragraph_id":"para_1102"},{"text":"the temporal aspect of the owner’s interest. . . . Both dimen-","paragraph_id":"para_1103"},{"text":"sions must be considered if the interest is to be viewed in","paragraph_id":"para_1104"},{"text":"its entirety”). Yet the majority inexplicably privileges the","paragraph_id":"para_1105"},{"text":"spatial. It is obvious that a plaintiff cannot recover under","paragraph_id":"para_1106"},{"text":"Title III for trafficking in property that falls outside its own","paragraph_id":"para_1107"},{"text":"property’s spatial boundaries. Suppose Havana Docks had","paragraph_id":"para_1108"},{"text":"a concession of unlimited duration, but only in the red","paragraph_id":"para_1109"},{"text":"dock—not in the blue dock next to it. Havana Docks could","paragraph_id":"para_1110"},{"text":"then recover from a defendant who uses the red dock, but","paragraph_id":"para_1111"},{"text":"not from a defendant who uses the blue dock because that","paragraph_id":"para_1112"},{"text":"dock lies outside its property interest. And if that is so, why","paragraph_id":"para_1113"},{"text":"should it be different when the boundary is temporal, ra-","paragraph_id":"para_1114"},{"text":"ther than spatial? Havana Docks had a concession in the","paragraph_id":"para_1115"},{"text":"docks until 2004, so it could get compensation from a de-","paragraph_id":"para_1116"},{"text":"fendant who used the docks before that date. But just as","paragraph_id":"para_1117"},{"text":"Havana Docks could not recover from the user of the blue","paragraph_id":"para_1118"},{"text":"dock, so too it should not recover from someone who used","paragraph_id":"para_1119"},{"text":"the docks after 2004, when its concession was due to expire.","paragraph_id":"para_1120"},{"text":"In either case, the trafficking would be in a thing falling","paragraph_id":"para_1121"},{"text":"outside Havana Docks’ property interest—and whether it","paragraph_id":"para_1122"},{"text":"falls outside the interest’s spatial boundaries, or instead its","paragraph_id":"para_1123"},{"text":"temporal ones, should make no difference to the outcome.","paragraph_id":"para_1124"},{"text":"At the end of the day, the Court’s interpretation of Title","paragraph_id":"para_1125"},{"text":"III treats all property interests as if they were perpetual","paragraph_id":"para_1126"},{"text":"ones. Like the Eleventh Circuit, I “do not believe that Con-","paragraph_id":"para_1127"},{"text":"gress, in enacting Title III, meant to convert property inter-","paragraph_id":"para_1128"},{"text":"ests which were temporally limited at the time of their con-","paragraph_id":"para_1129"},{"text":"fiscation into fee simple interests in perpetuity such that","paragraph_id":"para_1130"},{"text":"the holders of such limited interests could assert trafficking","paragraph_id":"para_1131"},{"text":"claims through what Buzz Lightyear called ‘infinity and be-","paragraph_id":"para_1132"},{"text":"yond.’ ” 119 F. 4th, at 1287 (quoting Toy Story (Pixar Ani-","paragraph_id":"para_1133"},{"text":"mation Studios/Walt Disney Pictures 1995)). Instead, I","paragraph_id":"para_1134"},{"text":"would hold that a plaintiff can recover under Title III only","paragraph_id":"para_1135"},{"text":"when the defendant traffics in the actual property that was","paragraph_id":"para_1136"},{"text":"confiscated from the plaintiff. Here, that means Havana","paragraph_id":"para_1137"},{"text":"7Cite as: 608 U. S. ____ (2026)","paragraph_id":"para_1138"},{"text":"KAGAN, J., dissenting","paragraph_id":"para_1139"},{"text":"Docks’ claim should fail, because the cruise lines did not","paragraph_id":"para_1140"},{"text":"traffic in Havana Docks’ time-limited—and long-ago ex-","paragraph_id":"para_1141"},{"text":"pired—concession. 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