To bring a Title III claim against Norwegian Cruise Line, you file a civil lawsuit in a United States district court under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act — not an intake form or administrative submission. The claim is a federal complaint alleging that Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings trafficked in property the Cuban government confiscated from you or your predecessor in interest. Since the executive branch stopped suspending the right to sue in May 2019, nearly 100 plaintiffs have filed at least 39 Title III cases, and the leading case against the cruise lines — Havana Docks Corporation v. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and its co-defendants — produced judgments over $100 million and reached the Supreme Court in 2026.1Supreme Court of the United States. Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
Who Can Sue Under Title III
Title III gives a private right of action to U.S. nationals whose confiscated Cuban property was commercially exploited by someone else. Three requirements are baked into the statute, and all three must be met before Norwegian can be named as a defendant.
- You must be a U.S. national at the time you file. That covers U.S. citizens and certain U.S.-domiciled entities.
- You must own a claim to property confiscated by the Cuban government on or after January 1, 1959. If the confiscation occurred before March 12, 1996, you must have acquired the claim before that date. If it happened on or after March 12, 1996, you cannot have acquired the claim by purchase after the confiscation.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6082 – Liability for Trafficking in Confiscated Property Claimed by United States Nationals
- Norwegian must have knowingly and intentionally trafficked in the confiscated property without your authorization.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6023 – Definitions
The March 12, 1996 cutoff is where many potential plaintiffs are eliminated. Inheritance carries the claim forward across that date; a post-1996 purchase of a confiscated-property claim does not. The universe of eligible claimants is finite: the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission certified roughly 5,913 claims in its two Cuba programs, and those certified claimants and their heirs form the core of viable Title III litigation.4Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the U.S. Completed Programs – Cuba
What Norwegian Must Have Done to Qualify as Trafficking
The statute defines trafficking broadly. Someone traffics in confiscated property by engaging in commercial activity that uses or benefits from the property, or by selling, purchasing, leasing, managing, or otherwise acquiring an interest in it. Directing or profiting from someone else’s trafficking also qualifies. The conduct must be knowing and intentional, and undertaken without authorization from the U.S. national who holds the claim.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6023 – Definitions
Several categories are carved out: international telecommunications signals to Cuba, trading in publicly held securities (unless with a specially designated national), transactions incident to lawful travel, and ordinary property use by Cuban citizens living in Cuba. In the Havana Docks litigation, the district court found that docking cruise ships at the confiscated port terminal and using it to embark and disembark passengers between 2016 and 2019 was trafficking.5United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Havana Docks Corporation v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd.
A 2026 Supreme Court ruling clarified what the plaintiff must prove on this element. The Court held that a claimant does not need to show the defendant trafficked in the plaintiff’s specific property interest — only that the defendant used confiscated property for which the plaintiff holds a claim.1Supreme Court of the United States. Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. That lowers the pleading and proof burden for anyone bringing a fresh case against Norwegian.
Filing the Complaint in Federal Court
Title III cases are federal civil actions. There is no agency portal, no standardized claim form, and no administrative pre-filing step. Your complaint must identify the court, name the parties, and lay out the factual basis for the claim in numbered paragraphs.
What the Complaint Has to Contain
Name Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and any relevant subsidiaries as defendants. Plead federal jurisdiction under 22 U.S.C. § 6082. Describe the property that was confiscated, your ownership of the claim, and the specific way Norwegian trafficked in that property. State the damages you seek. The complaint must be signed by the plaintiff or by an attorney of record.
Where to File
Most Title III cases against cruise lines have been filed in the Southern District of Florida, where the major cruise lines are headquartered. Federal venue rules allow filing in any district where the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction or where a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claim occurred.
Fees and Service
The standard filing fee for a new federal civil case is $405.6United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Fees, Payments, and Interest Rates File the original complaint with the clerk along with a copy for each defendant, submit a civil cover sheet, and prepare a summons. Once the court accepts the filing, you serve the defendants under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Filing without a lawyer is technically allowed, but Title III cases involve foreign property records, decades-old ownership chains, and a niche body of law federal judges rarely encounter. Most plaintiffs retain counsel who specialize in this area, often on contingency.
Proving You Own the Claim
Ownership is the evidentiary spine of a Title III case. The statute treats certified and uncertified claims differently.
If the FCSC Already Certified Your Claim
A claim certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission under the International Claims Settlement Act is conclusive proof of ownership, and the court must accept it as such.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6083 – Proof of Ownership of Claims to Confiscated Property Norwegian cannot re-litigate whether you own the claim or what it was worth at the time of certification. That is a substantial advantage.
One caveat: OFAC treats a certified Cuban claim as property in which Cuba has an interest, so transfers of certified claims generally require OFAC authorization. If you obtained your claim through a purchase or corporate reorganization rather than inheritance, expect Norwegian to probe whether the transfer was properly authorized.8U.S. Department of the Treasury. Notice Regarding the Transfer of Claims Against Cuba Certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission
If Your Claim Was Never Certified
You can still sue, but the evidentiary burden climbs. The court may appoint a special master, including the FCSC itself, to evaluate the amount and ownership of your claim.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6083 – Proof of Ownership of Claims to Confiscated Property You will need original property deeds, corporate records, or other documentation showing ownership as of the confiscation date. Foreign government or international tribunal findings against your claim are disregarded unless they came from binding international arbitration to which the U.S. or the claimant submitted.
Chain of Ownership
If you are not the original owner, you have to connect yourself to the person or entity whose property was seized. For inherited claims, that means probated wills, death certificates, and estate distribution records for each generation. For corporate successors, articles of incorporation, merger documents, and assignment records. Every gap invites a standing challenge from Norwegian.
What You Can Recover
Damages come in two tiers. Under the standard measure, a trafficker owes the greater of the FCSC-certified amount, the amount determined by the court, or fair market value — each plus interest — along with court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6082 – Liability for Trafficking in Confiscated Property Claimed by United States Nationals Fair market value is the higher of the property’s current value or its value at confiscation plus interest.
Treble damages apply when you hold a certified claim or when you provided proper statutory notice to the trafficker. In those cases, the property-value component is tripled, and court costs and attorneys’ fees are added on top.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code Chapter 69A – Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) – Section 6082 That is the mechanism that drove the Havana Docks judgments past $100 million against each cruise line.
The Two-Year Deadline
Any Title III action must be filed within two years after the trafficking has ceased.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 22 U.S. Code 6084 – Limitation of Actions The clock does not begin while the trafficking continues, so if Norwegian used the property repeatedly across several years, the two-year window opens only after it stopped entirely.
The historical context matters when you calculate the deadline. Every president from 1996 through early 2019 suspended the private right of action in rolling six-month periods. The suspension lifted on May 2, 2019, and cases like Havana Docks targeting 2016–2019 conduct were filed after that date. If the conduct you want to sue over ended years ago, check the deadline before you spend money on litigation.
Practical Realities Before You File
Title III cases are slow and expensive. Havana Docks was filed after May 2019 and remained in active litigation in 2026 following a Supreme Court decision and remand. Specialized attorneys generally work on contingency, but you will still invest significant time locating decades-old records, sometimes from Cuban archives that are hard or impossible to access.
A claim against Norwegian specifically depends on evidence that the cruise line used or benefited from the particular property to which you hold a claim. The Havana Docks case turned on the Port of Havana terminal. If your family’s confiscated property was a sugar mill in Camagüey or a ranch in Oriente, you need facts linking Norwegian’s operations to that property. Where no such link exists, Norwegian is not the right defendant even if your claim is otherwise strong.