Associated Press Quotes Lori Leskin on Consumer Tariff Refund Litigation
Lori Leskin, Co-Chair of Arnold & Porter’s Consumer Products practice, was quoted by the Associated Press article, “A surprise credit after an overseas purchase: The tariff refunds now flowing through shippers,” which examines the status of refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision earlier this year striking down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as well as the wave of consumer class actions seeking refunds from retailers who presumably are now receiving the IEEPA refunds.
The article details how shippers and retailers are handling billions of dollars in tariff refunds and the extent to which consumers may ultimately recover amounts they paid directly or indirectly.
With regard to the majority of the consumer class actions filed against manufacturers and retailers, Lori explained that consumers bringing these cases may face significant challenges proving that higher prices were directly attributable to tariffs. “It’s going to be very hard for anyone to establish that the price increase they paid was due to tariffs and not some other market force,” she said. She added that many of the lawsuits focus broadly on price increases, but “to be able to trace a price increase due to a single factor is going to be really difficult given the multifactorial approach that most companies take.”
