ROBERT M. GLEN V. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., [1:19-cv-23994 Southern Florida District; 4:20-cv-00482-A Transferred To Northern Texas District; 5th Circuit Court of Appeals 20-10903]

Reid Collins & Tsai (plaintiff)
Ewusiak Law, P.A. (plaintiff)
Jones Day (defendant)
Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP (defendant)

In The United States Supreme Court
ROBERT M. GLEN, Petitioner, v. AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Respondent.
On Petition For A Writ Of Certiorari To The United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit
PETITION FOR A WRIT OF CERTIORARI QUESTION PRESENTED

Excerpts:

Question Presented

Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, 22 U.S.C. § 6081 et seq., is a broad remedial statute that authorizes U.S. nationals whose property was confiscated by the Castro regime to assert trafficking claims against those who now unlawfully engage in commercial activity that benefits from confiscated Cuban property. The question presented is whether the single word “acquires” in Section 6082(a)(4)(B) of the Act bars trafficking actions by U.S. heirs who passively inherited claims to confiscated property during the 23 years between the Act’s passage in March 1996 and the lifting of the suspension of its private right of action in May 2019.

The Decision Below Eviscerates the Act’s Broad Remedial Purpose and Contravenes This Court’s Precedents. Title III is a broad remedial statute that endows victims with a private right of action against traffickers of confiscated property. But the Fifth Circuit’s statutory interpretation contravenes this remedial purpose and this Court’s precedent by “reduc[ing] the number of potential plaintiffs to almost zero, rendering [Title III] a dead letter.” United States v. Atl. Rsch. Corp., 551 U.S. 128, 137 (2007). Absent this Court’s intervention, Title III’s landmark private right of action will become illusory. Congress’s purpose in passing Title III is no mystery. Congress enacted Title III of the Act so that victims of the Castro regime could assert claims against traffickers in federal court. This legislative purpose was set forth by Congress directly in Title III itself:

Congress specifically found that “[t]he wrongful confiscation or taking of property belonging to United States nationals by the Cuban Government, and the subsequent exploitation of this property at the expense of the rightful owner, undermines the comity of nations, the free flow of commerce, and economic development.” 22 U.S.C. § 6081(2). Congress further specifically found that “[t]o deter trafficking in wrongfully confiscated property, United States nationals who were the victims of these confiscations should be endowed with a judicial remedy in the courts of the United States that would deny traffickers any profits from economically exploiting Castro’s wrongful seizures.” Id. § 6081(11). The Fifth Circuit’s analysis ignores these legislative findings and Congress’s purpose, instead reading the word “acquires” in a vacuum.

LINKS
29-Page Petition To United States Supreme Court (15 December 2021)
Appendix 1 (15 December 2021)
Affidavit Of Service (15 December 2021)
Certificate Of Compliance (15 December 2021)
Application For Extension Of Time To File To SCOTUS (12 October 2021)
Certification Of Service To SCOTUS (12 October 2021)
Application Of Extension Of Time From SCOTUS (12 October 2021)
5th Circuit Court Of Appeals Judgement (24 August 2021)
Complaints (1:19-cv-23994 Florida- 26 September 2019) & (4:20-cv-00482-A Florida- 26 September 2019)

Libertad Act Lawsuit Filing Statistics