Two US gamers have filed a class action lawsuit against Nintendo of America, alleging the company plans to retain government tariff refunds rather than passing them back to consumers.
The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims Nintendo intends to pocket refunds received from the federal government instead of reimbursing customers who paid inflated prices due to import duties.
According to arstechnica.com, the lawsuit seeks to represent a class of all US residents who purchased Nintendo products between February 2025 and February 2026.
"Unless restrained by this Court, Nintendo stands to recover the same tariff payments twice—once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff refunds, including interest paid by the government on those funds," the lawsuit stated.
Plaintiffs Gregory Hoffert of California and Prashant Sharan of Washington allege they paid retail prices that were specifically increased by Nintendo to account for tariffs on imported goods. The legal team at Emery | Reddy, PC claims the plaintiffs would not have paid these higher prices if not for the unlawful tariffs and Nintendo's decision to pass those costs through to the consumer.
The scale of the refund process
The litigation follows a February Supreme Court ruling that found President Trump illegally imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
While the court ruled the tariffs illegal, the administrative process for returning funds is only beginning. The US government opened an online portal for importers and customs brokers to submit refund requests this past Monday.
Officials estimate it will take between 60 and 90 days to process these claims. Data shows that over 330,000 importers paid a total of $166 billion in IEEPA duties as of March 4.
Nintendo is also engaged in its own legal battle regarding these funds. The company recently sued the US government, seeking a court order to prevent the Trump administration from withholding portions of the refunds from importers.
