At least two retail customers have filed proposed class-action lawsuits in U.S. courts seeking a share of tariff-related refunds from companies that had previously sued to recover those costs. These legal actions target delivery giant FedEx and French eyewear firm EssilorLuxottica, makers of Ray-Ban sunglasses, aiming to ensure consumers benefit from any reimbursements the businesses receive.
The lawsuits follow a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on February 20, which invalidated tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, deeming them to have been implemented without legal authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). These tariffs are estimated to be worth between $130 billion and $175 billion.
More than 1,000 companies, including major corporations like Revlon and Costco, had previously filed protective lawsuits in the U.S. Court of International Trade to secure their right to reimbursement.
A refund process, involving either the U.S. Court of International Trade or US Customs and Border Protection, is expected to be established in the coming days or months as numerous claims progress through government systems.
FedEx said in a statement on Thursday that it would return any tariff refund it might get to shippers and customers who had paid them. The complaint filed against FedEx on Friday by Matthew Reiser of Miami states the company's pledge “creates no legally enforceable obligation and is expressly contingent on future government and court guidance that may never materialize.”
Reiser claims he paid $36 in tariffs and customs brokerage and duty advancement fees on tennis shoes shipped via FedEx by Tennis Warehouse Europe, an online retailer based in Schutterwald, Germany.
FedEx did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a separate proposed class action filed this week, Nathan Ward of New York states that he purchased Ray-Ban sunglasses from ray-ban.com in August 2025 that were priced higher than in the past, reflecting a tariff surcharge.
“Despite seeking an order entitling it to a refund of the duties collected as a result of the subject tariffs, EssilorLuxottica continues to collect and has not refunded the tariff surcharges it collected from consumers,” the complaint states.
EssilorLuxottica also did not respond to a request for comment.
Barry Appleton, co-director of the Center for International Law at New York Law School, said he expected many more such consumer lawsuits to surface, especially against companies that issued invoices or receipts with itemized tariff charges. The legal viability of the cases is not clear-cut but they put pressure on businesses to share any tax refunds they manage to secure, he said.
“What we are watching is the predictable next chapter of the IEEPA story," Appleton said. "The Supreme Court told the White House it overreached, the major importers lined up for refunds, and now ordinary consumers are asking the obvious question — if those duties were illegal, why shouldn’t we get our money back too?”
