Imperial Brands wins US appeal, Helms‑Burton lawsuit dismissed

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit unanimously ruled that federal courts lack personal jurisdiction over British tobacco group Imperial Brands and advertising firm WPP, dismissing a Helms‑Burton Act claim. The case stemmed from a 2020 lawsuit filed by seven heirs of Cuban businessman Ramón Rodríguez Gutiérrez, who alleged that the companies profited from a former cigar factory in Havana that was expropriated by Fidel Castro in 1961.

The appellate judges affirmed earlier district‑court findings that the defendants have no sufficient ties to the United States and that the Cuban state-owned monopoly Tabacuba, which controls half of Habanos S.A., is separate from Imperial Brands. The decision reinforces previous rulings limiting the reach of the Helms‑Burton law against foreign firms operating outside the United States.