Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy Sues Levi Strauss Over Tariff Refunds It Kept

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy filed a class action against Levi Strauss & Co. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, over millions in tariff refunds the company has not returned to customers. The firm announced the suit on October 20, 2026, according to Business Wire.

Cotchett's Class Action Against Levi Strauss

The complaint covers a proposed nationwide class of consumers who bought Levi products at prices the company raised to cover tariffs. Levi disclosed that it paid approximately $80 million in IEEPA tariffs and applied for a refund of the full amount. On a July 8, 2026 earnings call, management said, "We haven't figured out what to do with it." Levi reported receiving $79 million in tariff refunds and $5 million in interest, which it described redeploying into the business.

The complaint alleges that in April 2025, days after the broadest round of tariffs was announced, Levi's CEO, Michelle Gass, said the company would be "surgical" with price hikes on its iconic jeans. Over the following year, Levi told investors it was taking "targeted pricing action" to "offset the impact of tariffs." The complaint alleges Levi raised prices across its catalog, including its Ribcage Straight Ankle women's jeans, up $10 to $108, and its original fit men's jeans, up $5 to $84.50, without telling consumers.

Pierce H. Stanley said, "For generations, families have trusted Levi's for an honest pair of jeans at a fair price. Those customers paid an invisible tax that the Supreme Court has now ruled should never have been collected. The refund money exists because they paid for it. It belongs to them." Joe Cotchett said, "Levi told Wall Street it was raising prices to cover tariffs. Then it collected those tariffs from its customers, got back nearly $80 million from the government, plus interest, and said it hasn't figured out what to do with it. We have. It goes back to the people who paid it."

Cotchett's Litigation Record

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy is a California-founded plaintiff-side litigation LLP established in 1969, with more than 45 attorneys across four U.S. offices, according to akta.pro company records. The firm has recovered $2 billion or more for consumers and businesses in antitrust class actions, and $310 million for consumers in the Apple iPhone "Batterygate" class action, the same records show.

Earlier Cotchett Tariff and Class Action Filings

On August 19, 2026, Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy filed a class-action lawsuit against Logitech Inc. alleging the company retained tariff refunds after raising consumer prices to cover those costs, according to FinancialContent Business Page. On the same date, Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel denied Bank of America's motion for summary judgment in a class action over the mishandling of unemployment benefits for more than 100,000 Californians during the pandemic, FinancialContent Business Page reported. On May 15, 2026, a federal judge approved a $110 million settlement in a Wells Fargo derivative lawsuit over discriminatory hiring and lending, Business Wire Blog reported.

What Comes Next in the Levi Strauss Case

The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 146 S. Ct. 628 (2026). The government is now refunding the money, with interest, to the companies that paid the tariffs directly.