(Bloomberg) — A Costco Wholesale Corp. member sued the retailer on Wednesday, saying it should reimburse all customers who paid higher prices on its products because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
The lawsuit, filed by Costco member Matthew Stockov of Illinois, is one of at least five proposed class action cases identified by Bloomberg News in which a customer has sued a company to seek tariff refunds. EssilorLuxottica SA, the maker of Ray-Ban sunglasses, and FedEx Corp. have also been sued by clients.
The cases represent a new legal strategy in the ongoing battle over tariff refunds, which has gone into high gear after the US Supreme Court struck down some of Trump’s duties as illegal on Feb. 20. As a result, thousands of companies have sued in recent weeks in a bid to get refunds on the tariffs they’ve paid to import goods from abroad.
Now, some consumers are arguing in court that if companies eventually get refunds, they want their share. But it’s unclear whether shoppers will be able to get refunds. And the timing and process to issue them is still being hashed out in court.
At the very least, the consumer class action lawsuits, which would have to be approved by a judge,, add to the growing political pressure on the administration to move forward quickly with the estimated $170 billion in refunds.
A US trade court judge has ordered the administration to take steps toward refunding importers. The government has said it is working on a new process that could be operational within 45 days, and that would require companies to opt-in by submitting claims for the tariffs they paid. The government is due to update the judge on its progress on Thursday.
Last week, Costco Chief Executive Officer Ron Vachris said the company was considering how to pass any refunds on to customers. “Our commitment will be to find the best way to return this value to our members through lower prices and better values,” he said.
Stockov’s suit said that pledge wasn’t clear or firm enough. “Costco has made no commitment to return any portion of anticipated tariff refunds to the consumers who bore those costs,” it said.
A Costco spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The case is Matthew Stockov v. Costco Wholesale Corporation, 26-cv-02734, US District Court, Northern District of Illinois.
–With assistance from Jaewon Kang.
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