Five Below class action claims retailer kept tariff refunds owed to customers

Five Below class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: Plaintiff Tyasia Johns filed a class action lawsuit against Five Below Inc.
• Why: Johns claims Five Below failed to return tariff refunds it received from the federal government to consumers who bore the brunt of the tariff costs.
• Where: The Five Below class action lawsuit was filed in Pennsylvania federal court.

A new class action lawsuit accuses Five Below of retaining tariff refunds from the federal government rather than returning them to consumers who bore the cost of the tariffs.

Plaintiff Tyasia Johns claims Five Below passed on the cost of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economy Powers Act (IEEPA) to consumers in the form of increased pricing and failed to pass on the refunds to them.

Johns argues that while the U.S. Supreme Court recently struck down the IEEPA-based tariffs, Five Below is positioned to recoup all such duties since only the importer of record can obtain tariff refunds from the government.

“Companies, even those which passed the entirety of their tariff burdens onto their customers, nonetheless remain fully empowered to recover a complete refund for any unlawful tariffs paid,” the Five Below class action lawsuit says.

Johns wants to represent a nationwide class of consumers who purchased any goods subject to the IEEPA-based tariffs through any Five Below retail channel. She demands a jury trial and requests declaratory and injunctive relief and an award of actual damages for herself and all class members.

Tariff lawsuit alleges refunds used to insulate and increase profits

Johns argues Five Below was able to insulate profits from the IEEPA tariffs and successfully leverage the tariffs to increase profits at the expense of its U.S. consumer base.

“As a direct result of [Five Below’s] pass-through pricing, [the] plaintiff and class members paid more for tariffed goods than they would have absent the unlawful IEEPA tariffs,” the Five Below class action lawsuit says.

Johns claims in her tariff lawsuit that Five Below is entitled to seek a refund of the IEEPA tariffs and duties it paid and passed onto its customers by way of price increases.

The plaintiff argues, however, that Five Below has not confirmed whether it has applied for refunds of the IEEPA tariffs and duties it paid or if it intends to provide its customers with any refunds for any increased prices paid as a result of the IEEPA tariffs.

In a continuing wave of tariff-related lawsuits, IKEA is also facing a class action lawsuit alleging it unlawfully passed costs on to consumers.

Did you pay a tariff price increase on products from Five Below? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Andrew W. Ferich of Ahdoot & Wolfson P.C.

The Five Below class action lawsuit is Johns v. Five Below Inc., Case No. 2:26-cv-04954, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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