Gamers File Class Action Lawsuit Against Nintendo Seeking Tariff Refunds

As businesses are starting the process to claim refunds from President Trump’s tariffs, some customers are looking to find ways to get refunds for the extra cost of goods over the last year. Earlier this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened an online portal for importers to claim refunds from the tariffs, which were struck down by the Supreme Court. The agency said that if a claim is approved, it will take between 60 and 90 days for the refund to be issued. However, individual consumers are not expected to directly get refunds.On Wednesday, a pair of gamers, Gregory Hoffert and Prashant Sharan, filed a class action lawsuit against Japan-based Nintendo, hoping to recoup the extra money they paid for products due to the tariffs. “This class action arises from Nintendo’s retention of windfall profits generated by unlawful tariffs imposed by the federal government,” the complaint says. “Plaintiffs bring this action on behalf of millions of consumers who purchased goods from Nintendo during the tariff period and who paid inflated prices reflecting Nintendo’s pass-through of unlawful tariffs.”The plaintiffs note that Nintendo’s products are manufactured in other countries and shipped to America, subjecting them to tariffs. “As a major importer of consumer goods, Nintendo faced increased costs resulting from tariffs on its products and took steps to address those cost pressures through pricing and merchandising decisions,” the lawsuit says. “Nintendo publicly acknowledged, early in the tariff period, that tariffs would increase its costs and place upward pressure on consumer prices.”The plaintiffs note that Nintendo raised the price of its Switch 2 accessories by “approximately $1 to $10 depending on the product.” The lawsuit says that the price of the Nintendo Switch 2 Dock Set increased from $109.99 to $119.99. They also argue that Nintendo executives’ “public statements and actions thus confirmed two critical points: first, that tariffs were increasing Nintendo’s costs on imported goods; and second, that Nintendo was making pricing decisions in direct response to those tariff-driven cost increases.”While the plaintiffs did not say what Nintendo products they bought over the last year, or how much extra they paid, they argue that the “potential refund pool resulting from the invalidation of the IEEPA tariffs is enormous.”“Nintendo is among the country’s largest importers of consumer goods and therefore stands to recover substantial sums if tariff refunds are paid,” the complaint says. “Those expected refunds are especially significant here because Nintendo previously passed tariff-related cost increases through to consumers in the form of higher retail prices, meaning Nintendo now seeks to recover from the government duties whose economic burden was borne, in whole or in part, by Plaintiffs and Class members.”The lawsuit accuses Nintendo of unjust enrichment, arguing that Nintendo passed on the costs of the tariffs to consumers but is not passing along tariff refunds. Nintendo did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication. While thousands of businesses are hoping to get refunds from the more than $160 billion collected through tariffs, it is unclear whether they will pass those refunds on to consumers.The Yale Budget Lab estimated that tariffs cost the average household $1,751.There have been companies that have said they plan on passing on refunds to customers. Shipping giant FedEx said in a statement, “Our intent is straightforward: if refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges.”However, at least two dozen class action lawsuits — similar to the one against Nintendo — have been filed against companies, accusing them of unjust enrichment and seeking refunds for the extra costs they paid due to the tariffs.

Gamers File Class Action Lawsuit Against Nintendo Seeking Tariff Refunds

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