Libertad Act Lawsuit Against American Airlines To Continue Without Latam Airlines Group; Jury Trial Requested

JOSE RAMON LOPEZ REGUEIRO V. AMERICAN AIRLINES INC. AND LATAM AIRLINES GROUP, S.A. [1:19-cv-23965; Southern Florida District]

Rivero Mestre LLP (plaintiff)
Manuel Vazquez, P.A. (plaintiff)
Jones Day (defendant)
Akerman (defendant)

LINKS:
Order (8/24/21)
Second Amended Complaint For Damages (9/27/21)
Libertad Act Lawsuit Filing Statistics

Excerpts From Order

THIS MATTER came before the Court on the parties’ Joint Status Report, [ECF No. 108], and at a Status Conference on August 20, 2021, [ECF No. 112]. For the reasons discussed on the record at the Status Conference, it is ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that: 1. This case is REOPENED as to Defendant American Airlines, Inc. only. 2. Plaintiff and Defendant American Airlines shall file a Joint Status Report by August 30, 2021, informing the Court regarding the status of discovery for purposes of a revised scheduling order. 3. The case will remain CLOSED as to Defendant Latam Airlines Group, S.A. (“Latam”) due to its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Latam shall file a Status Report within one week of the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings informing the Court whether the automatic stay has been lifted.

Excerpts From Complaint

José Martí International Airport (the “Airport”) is Cuba’s main domestic and international airport, serving millions of travelers every year, into, out of, and around Cuba. It serves dozens of airlines that use the airport to transport cargo as well as passengers, and operates as the hub for Cuba’s two main airlines: Cubana de Aviación (“Cubana”) and Aerogaviota. The Airport is a major international airport on par with some of the largest in the world. It was owned and built up by a company owned by José López Vilaboy, the father of plaintiff Jose Ramón López Regueiro, who transformed a minor, outdated airport on the brink of demolition by the Cuban government into what the Airport is now. For his efforts, Vilaboy—like so many other Cubans—was left with nothing when Fidel Castro seized power and set up a communist dictatorship, which stole his property and forced him and his family to flee Cuba.

A large and growing number of Cuban, U.S., and international airlines have used and benefited from the Airport for years—and continue to do so—without ever getting consent from the Vilaboy Family1 and without paying them a single penny in compensation for trafficking, and benefitting from trafficking, in this stolen property. Plaintiff López Regueiro brings this action for damages from that trafficking.

The defendants have knowingly and intentionally used and benefitted, directly and indirectly, from the Airport by soliciting, selling, and operating, for their economic benefit, cargo and passenger services to and from the Airport, which constitutes trafficking in violation of Title III of the Libertad Act.