United States: Class Actions

The US Court of International Trade has certified a nationwide class action for importers seeking refunds of duties unlawfully collected under IEEPA tariffs, while CBP launches Phase 3 of its CAPE refund system for finally liquidated entries. With approximately $30 billion in unlawful duties potentially remaining in the Treasury, these developments create new pathways for importers to recover funds following the Supreme Court's invalidation of President Trump's tariff authority under IEEPA.

A federal court in New York's Northern District has issued a pivotal ruling on whether warehouse employees must be compensated for time spent walking between security checkpoints and timeclock stations. The decision examines the interplay between federal Portal-to-Portal Act limitations and New York state wage regulations, with significant implications for employers operating large distribution facilities.

The Court of International Trade has certified a class action encompassing all importers who paid IEEPA tariffs between February 2025 and February 2026, providing a pathway for recovery even for those who haven't filed individual claims or participated in the CAPE program. This landmark decision particularly benefits smaller importers who may have been unable to navigate the refund process independently, with the court emphasizing comprehensive notice and supervised refund procedures.

Many taxpayers that may be entitled to refunds of IRS interest and penalty payments under more generous interpretations of the COVID relief rules will likely have only a few months (until July 10, 2026) to file refund claims to protect their rights. Some deadlines may run even sooner.

A federal court in Ohio granted conditional certification of a collective action challenging an employer's time-rounding practices, finding that workers across multiple positions and facilities were subject to the same non-neutral rounding policy that allegedly resulted in overtime violations. The court determined that representative evidence, including expert testimony showing the rounding practices worked against employees nearly 80 percent of the time, was sufficient to demonstrate that putative collecti

The US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit heard oral argument concerning an injunction that would grant student-athletes in the 2022 freshman class a fifth year of eligibility under the NCAA's new "Five for Five" rule. The case centers on whether the NCAA's decision not to apply its new eligibility rule retroactively to the 2022 class violates their rights, while many fifth-year football players remain sidelined pending the court's decision.

A federal court in Michigan dismissed most claims in a TCPA lawsuit after finding that the plaintiff's allegations failed to establish that the calls constituted "telephone solicitation" under the statute. The ruling hinged on whether asking about debt qualifies as marketing when no actual sale was attempted during the conversation.

The FCC is poised to implement sweeping changes to TCPA revocation rules and SMS regulations, while major class action settlements reveal critical compliance lessons for businesses deploying AI voice solutions. Bigly Sales CEO Tom Ryan shares how prioritizing TCPA compliance became the key differentiator that positioned his company for a profitable exit in the competitive GenAI marketplace.

A federal judge denied a motion for summary judgment by Dish Network in a class action lawsuit under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). The case involves allegations that the satellite company breached its fiduciary duty under ERISA by retaining certain target-date funds (TDFs) despite their lackluster performance.