TAMPA, Fla. – A Florida woman has filed a proposed class action against online retail giant Amazon, alleging it collected millions of dollars in unlawful tariffs from consumers like herself.
Plaintiff Sharon Lasseter, of Ruskin, filed a lawsuit on her behalf and others similarly situated in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.
“This action is brought on behalf of Plaintiff, purchaser of goods that Defendant sold throughout all the United States, who bore the economic burden of the President Donald Trump Administration’s tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (‘IEEPA’), and against Defendant who shifted the economic burden of the IEEPA tariffs to consumers throughout the United States by means of price increases on imported goods as well as U.S.-sourced goods not subject to tariffs sold by Defendant to Plaintiff,” the 20-page complaint states.
The proposed class action seeks to force Amazon to return funds collected from “millions” of consumers to cover the IEEPA tariffs between February 2025 and February 2026.
According to her complaint, Lasseter purchased items, including a Turnart electronic dartboard, directly from Amazon.
“These products were imported from countries subject to IEEPA tariffs and sold at prices inflated by Defendant's pass-through of IEEPA tariff costs,” the complaint states. “Plaintiff also purchased other products that were sourced from within the United States and not subjected to tariffs, but were sold at prices Defendant likewise inflated by spreading across its product line the IEEPA tariff costs incurred on its imported goods, so that purchasers of non-tariffed domestic goods also bore the tariff burden.”
Lasseter contends Amazon has received an “inequitable windfall” by collecting refunds from the federal government for tariff costs that were shifted to and paid by consumers such as herself.
“The refund process set in place by the federal government when the United States Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs established that only the importer of record is entitled to apply for and receive a refund for any moneys paid for the import of goods,” the filing notes.
“However, Defendant shifted the cost of these tariffs to its customers by way of price increases to products subject to tariffs and items not subjected to tariffs, being Plaintiff and similarly situated consumers who bore the tariff costs in the first place.”
She contends Amazon has not returned any portion of the costs it passed on to consumers, and claims the retailer has no intention of doing so.
Lasseter argues consumers such as herself have “no direct avenue for redress.”
“They both lack a statutory cause of action in the Court of International Trade and standing to seek a refund,” the lawsuit states. “That right belongs exclusively to the importer of record, here Defendant, regardless of who actually paid.
“The refund process as designed, establishes that large corporations that passed the entire tariff cost onto their customers remain exclusively entitled to recover a full refund of tariffs the Supreme Court has since declared unlawful.”
According to the filing, Lasseter believes there are “tens of millions” of class members, if not more, across the United States.
The proposed class action seeks a judgment requiring Amazon return to Lasseter, and others, all IEEPA duties passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices on products, with interest.
In addition, the lawsuit seeks an order temporarily and permanently enjoining Amazon from continuing its “deceptive, fraudulent, and unfair business practices.”
It also seeks costs, restitution, damages, disgorgement, pre- and post-judgment interest, and attorneys’ fees.
Farrell & Fuller Law in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is representing Lasseter and seeks to be class counsel. The mass tort law firm specializes in “large-scale plaintiff advocacy, corporate accountability, and complex multi-district litigation,” according to its website.
