“The doctrine prevents any court in the United States from declaring that an official act of a foreign sovereign performed within its own territory is invalid.” —Cox, Circuit Judge 

Facts: Prior to the Communist revolution in Cuba, Elvira de la Vega Glen and her sister, Ana Maria de la Vega Glen, were Cuban citizens and residents who jointly owned beachfront property on the Peninsula de Hicacos in Varadero, Cuba. On or about January 1, 1959, in conjunction with Fidel Castro’s Communist revolution, the Cuban government expropriated the property without paying the Glens. Also in 1959, the sisters fled Cuba. Ana Maria de la Vega Glen died and passed any interest she had in the Varadero beach property to her nephew, Robert M. Glen. Approximately 40 years after the property was taken by Cuba, Club Mediterranee, S.A., and Club Mediterranee Group (Club Med) entered into a joint venture with the Cuban government to develop the property. Club Med constructed and operated a five-star luxury hotel on the property that the Glens had owned. The Glens sued Club Med in a U.S. district court located in the state of Florida. The Glens alleged that the original expropriation of their property by the Cuban government was illegal and that Club Med had trespassed on their property and had been unduly enriched by its joint venture with the Cuban government to operate a hotel on their expropriated property. The Glens sought to recover the millions of dollars in profits earned by Club Med from its alleged wrongful occupation and use of the Glens’ expropriated property. The U.S. district court held that the act of state doctrine barred recovery by the Glens and dismissed the Glens’ claims against Club Med. The Glens appealed. 

Issue: Does the act of state doctrine bar recovery by the Glens? 

Language of the Court: The doctrine prevents any court in the United States from declaring that an official act of a foreign sovereign performed within its own territory is invalid. It requires that the acts of foreign sovereigns taken within their own jurisdictions shall be deemed valid. Because the act of state doctrine requires the courts deem valid the Cuban government’s expropriation of the real property at issue in this case, the Glens cannot maintain their claims for trespass and unjust enrichment against Club Med. Decision The U.S. court of appeals applied the act of state doctrine and affirmed the judgment of the U.S. district court that dismissed the Glens’ claim against Club Med. 

Ethics Questions: Did the Cuban government act ethically when it expropriated the Glens’ property? Did Club Med act ethically when it entered into a joint venture with the Cuban government to develop the property that had been expropriated from the Glens?