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Court rules against Alan Gross, who sued U.S. for negligence over his arrest in Cuba

By Fox News
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39b9c0eb-Cuba Alan Gross

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2013 file photo, supporters of Alan Gross, on poster at left, mark his fourth year in a Cuban prison with a protest in Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington D.C. Two U.S. senators said Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014 that they’re optimistic that the imprisoned American government contractor will be freed. Sens. Jeff Flake of Arizona and Tom Udall of New Mexico said in Havana that they met Gross for about two hours during a trip that included meetings with Cuban officials. Gross was detained in December 2009 while working to set up Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's U.S. Agency for International Development. He was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) (AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal appeals court has ruled against a government subcontractor imprisoned in Cuba who is seeking to sue the U.S. government for the destruction of his business.

Alan Gross was detained in December 2009 while setting up Internet access as a subcontractor for the U.S. government's Agency for International Development. It was his fifth trip to Cuba to work with Jewish communities on building Internet access that bypassed local censorship.

Cuba considers USAID programs illegal attempts by the U.S. to undermine the Cuban government. Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison in Cuba, where he remains. Gross and his wife sued for negligence.

In a 3-0 decision Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said the U.S. government is immune from any claim arising in a foreign country. It affirmed a lower court judge's dismissal of the case.

The Grosses said the government is cloaking itself in immunity after sending Gross into a situation it knew would be dangerous.

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The $60 million lawsuit blames the U.S. government and the contractor Gross was working for, Maryland-based Development Alternatives Inc., for failing to appropriately prepare him for his work in Cuba. The Gross family settled for an undisclosed amount with Development Alternatives.

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