District Judge Federico Moreno has invalidated the April 2025 jury verdict that cost Expedia and three affiliated companies $119.4 million. The judge’s move flips a landmark ruling that had just become the first successful jury award under Title III of the Helms-Burton Act. NewPARA Mario Echevarría, a Cuban-American businessman, brought the suit claiming his family lost an island off Cuba’s coast during the 1959 revolution. His argument wasn’t just about land; it accused the travel giants of profiting from hotels built on seized assets. The jury agreed, handing down a roughly $29.8 million per-defendant penalty that shocked legal observers.
But the court’s final word wasn’t the jury’s. Moreno concluded that the legal basis for the award was flawed, specifically regarding how the companies’ roles in booking services translated to liability for "trafficking" in confiscated property. The judge’s opinion effectively dismantles the logic that allowed the jury to assign such a massive financial burden to the parent company and its subsidiaries.
This isn’t just a win for Expedia’s balance sheet. It’s a structural blow to the 1996 law’s private right of action, which President Donald Trump activated in 2019. By overturning the verdict, the judge removes the most significant precedent supporting these claims, leaving Echevarría with limited options to appeal or refile. The next step hinges on whether the plaintiff’s team files a notice of appeal to the Eleventh Circuit, a process that could take years to resolve.