Fabletics Charged You Extra for Tariffs the Supreme Court Just Called Illegal Here’s What That Means

If you bought activewear from Fabletics online or in stores between early 2025 and February 2026, you may have paid a tariff surcharge the U.S. Supreme Court has since declared unconstitutional. A proposed class action filed on March 6, 2026, in Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois accuses Fabletics LLC of passing illegal IEEPA tariff costs directly onto its customers and failing to refund them. No settlement exists yet. This is an active lawsuit in its early stages.

Field	Detail
Defendant	Fabletics LLC, Los Angeles, California
Court	Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois
Filed	March 6, 2026
Lead Plaintiff	Norah Flaherty, Chicago, Illinois
Plaintiff’s Attorney	Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman
What’s Alleged	Unlawful pass-through of IEEPA tariff surcharges to consumers
Law Allegedly Violated	Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (ILCFDBPA); unjust enrichment
Plaintiff’s Documented Loss	$14.58 across three purchases
Per-Order Surcharge Reported	Up to $6 per order (based on consumer reports)
Settlement	None — no settlement exists
Settlement Amount	TBD
Claim Deadline	TBD
Payout Per Person	TBD

Where things stand right now:

• The lawsuit was filed March 6, 2026 — less than two weeks after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026. The case is in very early stages: no class has been certified, no hearing date is set, and no settlement has been proposed.
• The suit seeks to cover all U.S. customers who paid IEEPA tariff surcharges to Fabletics within the applicable statute of limitations period — potentially thousands of people.
• A separate law firm, Warren Terzian LLP, has announced it is also investigating Fabletics’ tariff surcharge practices as a potential basis for a California-based class action.

The Supreme Court Said the Tariffs Were Illegal — Fabletics Charged You for Them Anyway

Starting in early 2025, President Trump invoked a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — IEEPA — to impose sweeping import tariffs on goods from China and dozens of other countries. Companies that import products, including apparel makers like Fabletics, faced significantly higher costs on goods manufactured abroad.

Rather than absorb those costs internally, Fabletics, like many retailers, increased its prices in 2025 soon after President Trump announced the imposition of tariffs on goods imported from many countries, particularly from China. Fabletics added visible tariff surcharges — reportedly up to $6 per order — directly to customer checkout totals, presenting them as a necessary cost of the tariffs.

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, holding that IEEPA does not give the President authority to impose tariffs. The 6-3 ruling, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, found that the power to impose tariffs belongs to Congress under the Constitution — not the executive branch. The IEEPA tariffs were declared unlawful, and President Trump signed an executive order shortly after directing that they stop being collected.

The class action against Fabletics argues that this ruling has a direct consequence for consumers: the lawsuit asserts that, based on the Supreme Court ruling, any IEEPA tariffs charged to Fabletics and passed on to consumers were “unlawful and unconstitutional,” and that Fabletics has failed to reimburse consumers for any money wrongfully collected.

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You Likely Qualify If You Shopped Fabletics Online or In-Store During the Tariff Period

You may be a member of the proposed class if:

• You purchased clothing or other products from Fabletics — either on its website or at a physical retail location — at any point during 2025 up through approximately February 2026 when the IEEPA tariffs were in effect.
• Fabletics added a tariff-related surcharge or line item to your order total at checkout.
• You paid the surcharge without being able to negotiate or refuse it.
• You are a U.S. resident shopping within any applicable state limitations period.

The complaint does not restrict the class to Illinois residents. The plaintiffs seek to expand the action to include likely “thousands” of other people in the U.S. and Illinois who allegedly overpaid for products purchased through Fabletics. Fabletics operates retail locations across the country, including stores in the Chicago area, and sells nationally through its website.

Why the Lawsuit Says a Free Replacement From the Government Isn’t Good Enough for You

The legal argument here has an unusual twist. The Supreme Court ruling left open the question of whether importers — meaning companies like Fabletics, not consumers — could seek refunds from the federal government for IEEPA tariffs already paid. The Fabletics lawsuit directly addresses what happens to consumers if Fabletics does collect a refund.

The lawsuit argues that if Fabletics receives a refund from the government, it will provide Fabletics with a “windfall” of ill-gotten cash, since the company already charged consumers to cover those same tariff costs. In other words, Fabletics would be reimbursed twice — once by its customers and once by the government — while those customers get nothing back.

The complaint asserts that an IEEPA tariff windfall kept by Fabletics “offends public policy, is oppressive and causes substantial injury to consumers.” Critically, the lawsuit also argues that Fabletics owes its customers even if no government refund ever materializes — because the company had no legal right to charge customers for an unconstitutional tariff in the first place.

What the Lawsuit Is Asking the Court to Order

The Fabletics complaint does not name a specific dollar total. Individual losses are small — lead plaintiff Norah Flaherty paid $14.58 across three separate transactions, and consumer reports suggest per-order surcharges ran up to $6. But the suit seeks restitution for all affected U.S. customers, meaning the aggregate amount across thousands of transactions could be substantial.

The complaint requests damages, restitution, disgorgement of any profits Fabletics received from the tariff surcharges, and other equitable relief. It also seeks attorneys’ fees and litigation costs. All financial figures — individual payouts, total class recovery, and any settlement amount — are TBD pending litigation.

The Timeline From “Liberation Day” Tariffs to the Lawsuit at Your Door

Milestone	Date
Trump invokes IEEPA — first tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China	February 1, 2025
“Liberation Day” global IEEPA tariffs announced	April 2, 2025
Fabletics and other retailers begin passing tariff surcharges to customers	2025 (ongoing)
Supreme Court hears oral arguments (Learning Resources v. Trump)	November 5, 2025
Supreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs 6-3	February 20, 2026
Fabletics class action filed, Cook County Circuit Court	March 6, 2026
Law360 reports the filing	March 9, 2026
Warren Terzian LLP announces separate California investigation	March 2026
Class certification hearing	TBD
Settlement negotiations	TBD
Expected consumer compensation	TBD

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to join this class action?

 No. If a class is certified and a settlement is eventually reached, class members typically receive notice by mail or email and can file a claim without hiring their own attorney. You do not need to take any action right now. If you believe you suffered a significant individual loss and want to pursue your own claim, consulting a consumer protection attorney is an option.

Is this Fabletics lawsuit legitimate?

 Yes. Law360 confirmed the filing on March 9, 2026. The case was brought by the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman — a consumer protection firm — in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The underlying legal basis ties directly to the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, a confirmed and publicly available federal court decision.

When will I receive any payment?

 No payment timeline exists yet. The lawsuit was filed in March 2026 and is in its earliest stages. Before any money reaches consumers, the court must certify a class, the parties must negotiate a settlement or proceed to trial, and any settlement must receive court approval. That process routinely takes one to several years.

What if I already paid the tariff surcharge — do I have to do anything right now?

 No immediate action is required. Keep any order confirmations, receipts, or account statements showing a tariff or import fee line item from Fabletics purchases made in 2025 or early 2026. That documentation may matter when a claim process opens, if and when a settlement is reached.

Will any future settlement payment affect my taxes?

 Possibly. Settlement payments classified as restitution for economic overcharges may be treated as taxable income depending on your circumstances. Consult a qualified tax professional in the year you receive any payment.

What exactly is IEEPA and why does it matter to my Fabletics purchase?

 IEEPA — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — is a 1977 federal law that lets the president regulate commerce during national emergencies involving foreign threats. Starting in 2025, President Trump used it to impose broad import tariffs. The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, because the Constitution reserves that taxing power for Congress. Retailers like Fabletics that collected surcharges tied to those tariffs are now facing legal claims that those charges were never lawfully owed.

What if I am a Fabletics VIP member — does that affect my eligibility? 

The tariff surcharge lawsuit is separate from earlier litigation over Fabletics’ VIP membership program. Your VIP membership status does not appear to affect eligibility for this specific tariff-related class action, which covers anyone who paid an IEEPA tariff surcharge during the applicable period. Review your order history for any tariff line items to determine whether you were charged.

Sources

• Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois — Flaherty v. Fabletics LLC, filed March 6, 2026
• Law360, “Kate Hudson’s Activewear Co. Sued For Tariff Refunds,” March 9, 2026
• U.S. Supreme Court, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 607 U.S. ___ (decided February 20, 2026): supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf
• SCOTUSblog, “Supreme Court strikes down tariffs,” February 26, 2026: scotusblog.com
• Congress.gov CRS Legal Sidebar, “Supreme Court Rules Against Tariffs Imposed Under IEEPA,” February 23, 2026

Last Updated: April 2, 2026

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Legal claims and outcomes depend on specific facts and applicable law. For advice regarding a particular situation, consult a qualified attorney.