Nintendo is being sued by customers seeking tariff refunds
Nintendo of America is being sued by two customers who claim they are entitled to tariff refunds from the company.
As noted in a court document surfaced by Aftermath, plaintiffs Gregory Hoffert and Prashant Sharan filed the proposed class action in the United States District Court Western District of Washington on April 21, 2026.
Both claim Nintendo has benefited from controversial tariffs imposed by the United States government after passing the cost onto consumers via price hikes before itself becoming entitled to refunds after the Supreme court decided those same tariffs were unlawful.
"Major U.S. importers—including Nintendo—responded by increasing prices on consumers goods to offset the cost of these tariffs. As a result, American consumers paid higher retail price for consumer goods reflecting the economic burden of those tariffs," reads the filing.
"On February, 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the IEEPA-based tariffs were unlawful. As a consequence of that decision, importers who paid those tariffs—including Nintendo—became entitled to refunds of the duties they previously paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
"[...] Nintendo therefore collected the tariff costs from consumers through elevated pricing, while seeking refunds on the same tariff payments from the federal government."
Hoffert and Sharan allege Nintendo now stands to recover those tariffs payments twice—once from consumers through higher prices, and once again from the federal government. That is, unless the court orders the company to reimburse consumers across America through tariff refunds.
"Nintendo has made no legally binding commitment to return tariff-related overcharges to the consumers who actually paid them." the filing continues. "This lawsuit seeks to prevent that unjust result."
Hoffert and Sharan claim they are taking action on behalf of "millions of consumers" who purchased goods from Nintendo during the tariff period.
Aftermath has uploaded the complete filing on Scribd.
