Russia’s Ministry of Crimean Affairs declined to comment. Several lawyers said their cases were referred to Russia’s Supreme Court, which is expected to issue the definitive ruling on whether the Crimean law is constitutional.

Various companies are turning to courts outside Russia. Many find their cases hobbled by the fact that the militia seized computers and legal documents along with the property, leaving the owners to fight back without records.

One of the most high-profile properties, Yalta Film Studio, sits high above the town, with sweeping views of the Black Sea.

In October, 12 armed men stormed the administration building and forced everyone there to lie face down, said Sergei M. Arshinov, the Moscow businessman who owns the property. He was perplexed because he had been negotiating with the government to sell the property back. He and his brother invested heavily in the 32-acre property and ran it for more than a decade as a back lot for movies and television shows.

The Crimean government cites the studio as an example of what it calls “criminal” land sales, saying publicly that it will pay only about $100,000 in compensation, reflecting what it says was the sale price under Ukrainian stewardship. Mr. Arshinov said he and his brother originally paid about $3 million for the property and then over $11,000 monthly in property taxes for the main parcel, which was valued at $13 million on the Ukrainian tax rolls. Mr. Arshinov said he and his brother had invested because a friend running Russia’s state movie committee asked them about 15 years ago to rescue the bankrupt studio.

Some longtime studio workers were ecstatic about the property seizure.

Valerie P. Pavlotos, 74, a former movie set builder, limped around an old seafront film lot, reliving the golden age of Soviet filmmaking.

“This entire area was always full of people in different costumes. You could see all the famous Soviet actors,” he said, adding repeatedly, “It was a cathedral of art.”