The Spanish court that in May 2021 dictated The provisional dismissal of the lawsuit against the Meliá hotel company presented by the Sánchez-Hill family, for the exploitation of their land in Cuba confiscated by Castroism, has archived the case for the second time.
The head of the Court of First Instance of Palma that is handling the claim, reported this wednesday Expansionagrees with the Cuban state company Gaviota and declares the lack of jurisdiction of the Spanish courts in this judicial process.
The order, dated January 27 and to which the economic newspaper had access, indicates that the Spanish Justice cannot know, in a legal sense, the confiscation “since it was a sovereign act carried out by Cuba through its own laws.” The Tribunal does not rule on its international jurisdiction, since the lack of jurisdiction is sufficient reason to file the procedure, which sets a precedent in other claims based on the Helms-Burton law against Spanish hotel companies.
The Court does not rule on its international competence since the lack of jurisdiction is sufficient reason for the file of the procedure, which sets a precedent
The Sánchez-Hill family sued the Balearic Islands Meliá chain in 2019 for the operation of two hotels, Paradisus Río Oro and Sol y Río and Luna Mares, on land that belonged to their family before 1959. On that occasion, the judge already issued the provisional file of the case for the same reasons as now, but the Sánchez-Hills appealed to the Provincial Court (higher instance) considering that the company’s tax domicile made the claim possible.
The plaintiffs then extended the complaint to the Cuban State, as the owner of the land, although it decided not to appear. On the other hand, Gaviota did, whose allegations were joined by Meliá.
The state company maintained in its brief that Cuba enjoys immunity from jurisdiction and, since the lawsuit was directed against the Island, the privilege was extended to the rest of the defendants. In addition, Gaviota added that meeting the demand meant ruling on assets located within Cuba without extraterritorial effects in Spain, as well as something impossible: ruling on sovereign acts of a State.
Meliá sources consulted by the Spanish newspaper limited themselves to showing their satisfaction with the filing of the case, in which the family claimed at least ten million euros for the “illicit enrichment” of the hotelier.
However, the procedure has generated problems for the chain, including the ban on entry into the US against Gabriel Escarrer, executive vice president and CEO of the company, as a result of the case.
The manager, however, said upon learning of that measure that he did not “tremble” due to the pressures he received and that his commitment to Cuba was unconditional.
The manager, however, said upon learning of that measure that he did not “tremble” due to the pressures he received and that his commitment to Cuba was unconditional. Despite the severe collapse of tourism on the island, which after the pandemic has not managed to recover the figures and even falls short of the poorest forecasts, Meliá has not yielded in its expansion strategy.
In addition to the 34 hotels that the Balearic chain manages on the Island, the projects are frequently reactivated. The most recent is the December 2021 agreement with the Cuban Medical Services Marketer to include its establishments in the health tourism promoted by the regime, an agreement that is already being implemented, according to the authorities in May 2022, for patients of hemodialysis.
In addition, in the short term the opening, although without a specified date, of other establishments, such as the Sol Caribe Beach in Varadero and the Meliá Trinidad Peninsula, in Sancti Spíritus, is planned. When these two are inaugurated, it will have 36 hotels, 10% of the total in Cuba, and 14,844 rooms, 15.2% of the availability on the Island.
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