Alan Gross’s lawsuit against US government rejected

Jewish-American contractor filed litigation against authorities for sending him to Cuba with inadequate support

By JTA 6 April 2015, 10:04 pm

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Alan Gross, recently released by Cuban authorities, concludes his remarks with his wife Judy at a press conference in Washington, DC, shortly after arriving in the United States, December 17, 2014 (Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP)

The US Supreme Court rejected Alan Gross’ appeal in a $60 million lawsuit he filed against the US government.

On Monday, the high court rejected the appeal of the Jewish-American contractor, who spent five years in a Cuban prison, Reuters reported.

Gross and his wife sued the US government for negligence in 2012, saying it had sent him to Cuba without adequate support.

Last year, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the US government was immune from claims arising in a foreign country. A district court originally rejected the suit.

Gross was released from prison in December as part of negotiations between the Obama administration and the Cuban government aimed at normalizing relations between the two countries.

Cuba had sentenced Gross to 15 years for providing Internet equipment to the local Jewish community under a program that the government found suspicious.

In a separate development, Gross will receive $3.2 million in a settlement reached with the US Agency for International Development and DAI, a contractor with which he worked.