Case 54.1 page 920 Glen v. Club Mediterranee, S.A.
In case 54.1, Glen v. Club mediterranee, S.A. (Club Med), the act of state doctrine is discussed. Elvira and Ana Glen owned beach front property jointly in Cuba. Sometime in January of 1959 the Cuban government expropriated the Glen’s property without paying either Elvira or Ana. Shortly after the Glen sisters fled the country. After fleeing from Cuba Ana Glen passed away and left her portion of the beach property to her nephew Robert.
Forty years or so after the property was expropriated from the Glen sisters; Club Med started a cooperative endeavor with the Government of Cuba to develop the property. Club Med then constructed and operated a luxury five star hotel on said property.
The Glens then sued Club Med from a U.S. District Court located in Florida. The Glens sued Club Med claiming that Club Med had encroached on their property and had been unjustifiably supplemented monetarily by its cooperative venture with the Cuban government, who had illegally expropriated the land. The Glens were seeking to recover the millions of dollars in profit gained by Club Med operating on the Glen’s property.
The U.S. District Court brought about that the act of state doctrine barred recovery of the Glen’s land in Cuba. The court also dismissed all claims against Club Med but the Glens appealed.
The principle of the act of state doctrine refers to the fact that what happens within a country’s borders cannot be questioned by a judge in another country; each country has right to absolute authority of events that emerge within its own borders. The principle of the act of state doctrine can be applied to a modern managerial setting as it applies to multiple situations. The idea that what happens in one country cannot be judged by another can apply to many situations. If a U.S. based company were to have an issue with a business decision in another country that they wish to handle by use of a U.S. court they cannot...