(CNN) The first lawsuits against a company accused of trafficking in confiscated Cuban property were filed Thursday, both targeting Carnival Cruise Lines.

The unprecedented action was made possible following a move by the Trump administration to fully implement Title III of the Helms-Burton Act, also known as the Libertad Act, which allows US nationals to sue for damages over private property seized during the Cuban revolution.

Javier Garcia-Bengochea and Havana Docks Corp. each filed suit in a federal court in Miami on the first day that Title III fully entered into force. Rodney Margol, who is co-counsel on the cases along with Bob Martinez, said the litigation was filed at 12:01 a.m.

The lawsuits allege that the Miami-based cruise company has been using ports that belonged to their family or family's company without compensation.

"The cruise lines have been using Havana Docks port infrastructure for several years without consequence to them," an emotional Mickael Behn, the president of Havana Docks, told members of the media after filing the suit. "They knew very well the ownership. It wasn't a secret to them or anyone else."

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