Nintendo has filed a motion to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit that argues customers deserve refunds if the company wins back money it paid in tariffs on "Switch 2" accessories and the original "Switch."
Nintendo Pushes to Dismiss Class-Action on Tariff Refunds
Nintendo filed a motion to dismiss which argued that customers who bought its products at the higher prices already received exactly what they paid for.
The case, known as Hoffert et al v. Nintendo, was filed this past spring by consumers who claim Nintendo would be breaking the law if it kept any tariff refund for itself without passing savings back to buyers. Nintendo's lawyers responded in a motion filed Monday, calling the lawsuit's core argument meritless.
According to Nintendo's filing, the customers who sued failed to show that the price increases themselves were unlawful or that Nintendo misled anyone about why prices went up.
Nintendo's attorneys described the tariffs as "sweeping" and "constantly changing," arguing that expecting a company to retroactively adjust prices on already completed sales simply because of a later legal outcome isn't how commercial transactions typically work.
Nintendo Says Users Got What They Paid For
Nintendo raised prices on "Switch 2" controllers and other accessories, along with the original "Switch," last year following the rollout of sweeping US tariffs, reported ArsTechnica. The company originally attributed those increases to "changes in market conditions" rather than tariffs directly, though the timing closely followed the tariff announcements.
A separate price hike announced more recently was tied to rising RAM costs rather than tariffs, according to the company.
In its motion, Nintendo stated that the money customers paid "represents the purchase price of the goods they wanted and received," arguing that plaintiffs are not entitled to a rebate simply because of later legal developments tied to tariffs.
Nintendo isn't alone in taking this position either, with automaker Ford facing a similar proposed class action in Michigan after saying it also would not pass along any tariff refund it receives to customers.
Trump Tariffs and Nintendo's Refund
The dispute traces back to sweeping tariffs the Trump administration imposed on imports from more than 180 countries last year, using authority granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Because Nintendo manufactures its hardware overseas, those tariffs directly affected the cost of bringing "Switch 2" hardware and accessories into the US.
This effectively delayed pre-orders and pushed prices higher on select items even as the console itself launched at its original $449.99 price point.
After the Supreme Court ruled in February that the tariffs were unlawful, Nintendo filed its own lawsuit against the US government, seeking a full refund with interest on the duties it had already paid.
That earlier lawsuit is what prompted customers to file their own case against Nintendo. The customers argued that if Nintendo successfully recovers tariff money from the government while keeping the higher prices it charged consumers in place, the company would effectively be collecting on the same costs twice.
Nintendo's motion to dismiss is now asking the court to reject that argument entirely, leaving the case in the hands of a judge to determine whether it moves forward.
