LafargeHolcim to settle US lawsuit from Cuban operations

LafargeHolcim Ltd has agreed in principle to settle a lawsuit brought by a group of 25 US nationals who claimed the company used their Cuban property to conduct business, according to court documents.

The lawsuit, filed in September in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida, is one of dozens of cases brought under a long-dormant law that allows Americans to pursue legal action against companies doing business in Cuba on property confiscated by the regime of Fidel Castro, claims The Wall Street Journal.

The plaintiffs claim that the property they owned through a company was confiscated without compensation by the Cuban government in 1960.

The certified claims originally belonged to five Americans, who were all members of the same family and sole owners of Compañía Azucarera Soledad SA, a family-owned company in Cienfuegos, whose property was used by LafargeHolcim.