Nintendo customers sue to get share of Trump tariff refunds

Two Nintendo of America customers have filed a lawsuit against the company, demanding that the money the gaming company expects to receive from Trump’s tariff refund be passed on to consumers.

Proposed class action lawsuit lawsuitNintendo of America’s claim, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, claims that Nintendo of America has not committed to refunding customers the money they paid to settle the now-vacated fees imposed by the Trump administration. The lawsuit says Nintendo engaged in “unjust enrichment” and violated Washington state consumer protection law.

“Unless restrained by this court, Nintendo will recover the same tariff payments twice — once from consumers through higher prices and again from the federal government through tariff recovery, including the interest the government pays on those funds,” the lawsuit said.

Nintendo of America, a subsidiary of Japanese video game giant Nintendo, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit comes as companies begin applying for refunds of duties they paid to the U.S. government as a result of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on foreign trading partners in February 2025. Trump has cited the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify increasing taxes on goods imported from nearly every country in the world.

The US Supreme Court overturned these definitions in February, ruling that the Emergency Powers Act did not allow the definitions to be used to address national emergencies. Before the ruling, the US government collected revenues of more than $160 billion from thousands of companies. One of those companies was Nintendo of America, according to the lawsuit.

Nintendo raised the cost of many accessories by $5 to $10 in April 2025, after the tariffs were imposed, according to ForbesHe attributed the price increase to “changes in market conditions.” In August, Nintendo increased the price of the original Switch hardware in the United States, according to History of video gamesWhich raised the cost of the Switch Lite by $30 and the Switch OLED by $50

Lawsuits seeking consumer refunds have also been filed against Ray-Ban’s manufacturer, EssilorLuxottica, and clothing maker Lululemon. Meanwhile, shipping companies FedEx, DHL and UPS promised to pass the money on to their customers.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday against Nintendo of America by Gregory Hoffert of California and Prashant Sharan of Washington state. The pair are seeking unspecified damages and relief for consumers who purchased Nintendo products between February 1, 2025, and February 24, 2026, during the period the tariffs were in effect.