LafargeHolcim Of Switzerland Sued For US$270+ Million By Certified Claimant In Libertad Act Lawsuit
/WILLIAM H. CLAFLIN, IV; JOSEPHINE C. HORAN; PATRICIA M. CLAFLIN; EDWARD A. CLAFLIN; ELAINE Y. ALEXANDER; JOHN K. SPRING, JR.; HELEN S. MONTERO; WILLIAM C. SPRING; SUSAN K. SPRING; DAVID G. WITTER; MALCOLM G. WITTER; DEAN WITTER III; HELEN C. WITTER; KATHARINE C. WEEKS; KATHARINE W. WHITE; MARTHA W. SINCLAIR; JOHN W. WEEKS JR.; DAVID C. WEEKS; SINCLAIR WEEKS; STEPHEN D. WEEKS; ROBERT F. WEEKS; ESTATE OF ANNE C. ALLEN; ESTATE OF HELEN C. SPRING; ESTATE OF JOHN W. WEEKS; and ESTATE OF PRENTICE W. CLAFLIN V. LAFARGEHOLCIM LTD; INVERSIONES IBERSUIZAS S.A.; HOLCIM TRADING SA (F/K/A) UNION MARITIMA INTERNACIONAL SA; DE RUITER OUDERLANDE B.V.; LAS PAILAS DE CEMENTO S.A.U.; and UNKNOWN SUBSIDIARY OF THE LAFARGEHOLCIM GROUP [1:20-cv-23787; Southern Florida District].
Berliner Corcoran & Rowe LLP (plaintiff)
Roig Lawyers (plaintiff)
LINKS To:
Excerpts From Complaint
Plaintiffs bring this action to recover treble damages, interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees under the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996, codified at 22 U.S.C. § 6021, et seq. (the “Helms-Burton Act”) against Defendants LafargeHolcim, De Ruiter, Las Pailas, and the Unknown Subsidiary for trafficking in property which was confiscated by the Cuban Government on or after January 1, 1959 and as to which Plaintiffs own 100% of the claims as certified by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission (“FCSC”).
Cuba converted the Confiscated Soledad Property into the Carlos Marx cement plant, which utilizes and benefits from the Confiscated Soledad Property, including its rivers, railroads, limestone, and other infrastructure.
11. Defendants used a complex web of shell entities and transactions designed, until very recently, to conceal the fact that LafargeHolcim has partially owned and operated and profited from the Carlos Marx cement plant in partnership with the Cuban government since 2000.
Plaintiffs, who now own the FCSC Certified Claims to the Confiscated Soledad Property, seek treble money damages, interest, costs, and attorneys’ fees against certain Defendants for trafficking in the Confiscated Soledad Property as defined by the Helms-Burton Act.
The clear and convincing evidence demonstrates that the current fair market value of the Confiscated Soledad Property is greater than the amount of the FCSC Certified Claims plus interest. Therefore, Plaintiffs are entitled to recover the current fair market value of the property, which is estimated to be $270 million, plus attorneys’ fees, interest, and costs.
In fact, in 2000, prior to LafargeHolcim’s (then known as Holderbank) investment in Cuba, LafargeHolcim sought legal advice from a U.S. law firm about the effect of the Helms-Burton Act and the FCSC Certified Claims on its then potential investment in, modernization of, and management of the Carlos Marx cement plant. LafargeHolcim’s U.S. law firm advised that investing in the cement plant without obtaining the authorization of the persons holding the FCSC Certified Claims would subject it to liability under the Helms-Burton Act. The U.S. law firm also advised LafargeHolcim that LafargeHolcim should not try to conceal its trafficking through the use of various corporate structures, for any such attempted concealment would not avoid said liability.
21. Contrary to its U.S. law firm’s advice, LafargeHolcim proceeded to traffic, knowingly and intentionally, in the Confiscated Soledad Property by affiliating with, using, and conspiring with the other Defendants to create and maintain a complex web of corporate structures, shell companies, and alliances designed to conceal, until recently, LafargeHolcim’s investment in and trafficking in the Confiscated Soledad Property.
22. Since 2000, LafargeHolcim has trafficked, knowingly and intentionally, in the Confiscated Soledad Property, seemingly confident that it would not be held accountable for its trafficking in any U.S. court. But LafargeHolcim has purposefully availed itself and sought the protection of the U.S. legal system, even as it took active steps to evade that system, including by filing a civil complaint in federal court and admitting on the record in that lawsuit that it, i.e., Defendant LafargeHolcim Ltd, which is based in Switzerland: (a) has extensive business operations in the United States, (b) is the United States’ leading cement producer, (c) offers waste management services in numerous cities throughout the United States, (d) recovers and recycles waste through co-processing at service locations across North America, and (e) has reached a significant number of consumers in the United States.
