People who bought tariffed goods from Lowe's between February 1, 2025 and February 24, 2026 may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Lowe's raised prices to pass on IEEPA tariffs and is now keeping the government refunds of those same tariffs. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational and is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Lowe's Companies, Inc. is facing a proposed class action alleging that it raised prices to pass tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on to its customers, and that now the Supreme Court has struck those tariffs down, Lowe's is collecting refunds of the duties from the federal government and keeping them. The complaint says the shoppers who allegedly bore the cost have no way to seek a refund themselves, because only the company that imported the goods can claim one. Lowe's has not been found liable, and the allegations are unproven.The case is captioned McCoy v. Lowe's Companies, Inc., Case No. 5:26-cv-02156. It was filed on September 3, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and assigned to Judge John R. Adams. The plaintiff is an Ohio shopper who says he bought tariffed goods at a Lowe's store in Ohio. The complaint pleads four counts: a violation of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (for the Ohio class only), unjust enrichment, money had and received, and a separate count for class-wide injunctive relief. It is brought on behalf of a proposed nationwide class and an Ohio class.
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What Does the Complaint Allege?
Beginning in February 2025, the President issued a series of executive orders using IEEPA to impose new tariffs on imports from nearly every country, including the countries Lowe's sources products from. The complaint cites research estimating that most of the cost of those tariffs was passed through to American consumers, and alleges Lowe's did the same by raising its prices.On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped collecting the duties days later and began refunding them to importers of record, the only parties with standing to claim them. On March 4, 2026, the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to process IEEPA duties out of affected entries, and the complaint quotes that order as saying all importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit of the ruling. That, the complaint says, is the gap: Lowe's can recover the duties from the government, but customers who paid higher shelf prices cannot, so Lowe's could be paid twice for the same tariff, once by its customers and once by the government.
The complaint points to Lowe's own reporting. When the company released its second-quarter 2026 results on August 19, 2026, it said both its reported and adjusted earnings per share included an $0.11 benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, a figure the complaint and the company's earnings call put at about $80 million. Rather than cut prices, the complaint alleges, Lowe's used the refunds to protect its profit margins and cover rising fuel and transportation costs. Executives have said the company is filing for additional refunds, that the second-quarter amount is a small share of the IEEPA duties it paid, and that it excluded any further refunds from its outlook because of uncertain timing. Lowe's has not said how much it paid in IEEPA tariffs or expects to recover. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Lowe's may be entitled to as much as $1 billion in refunds, and that it has not committed to returning any of the money to customers or set up any way for them to claim it.
Who Would Be Included?
The complaint proposes two classes:• Nationwide Class: all persons who bought, from any Lowe's retail channel, any product subject to the IEEPA tariffs from February 1, 2025 through February 24, 2026.
• Ohio Class: all persons in Ohio who bought such products from any Lowe's retail channel during the same period.
Excluded are Lowe's, its subsidiaries and affiliates, its officers, directors and employees, entities it controls, their legal representatives and successors, and the judge, the judge's family and staff and any juror. "Any Lowe's retail channel" reaches stores and Lowe's.com. The definitions are proposals; no class has been certified, and the court could narrow or reject them.
A question the case will have to answer is which purchases count. IEEPA tariffs applied to imported goods, and Lowe's also sells domestically made products and goods subject to other tariffs that the Supreme Court ruling did not touch, such as the Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum. How much of any price increase traces to the refundable IEEPA duties is exactly what a court would have to sort out.
What Is the Lawsuit Asking For?
The complaint's fourth count asks for court orders that would operate while the case is pending. It asks the court to:• bar Lowe's from spending or distributing the IEEPA tariff refunds it receives while the case is pending;
• require Lowe's to hold those refunds in a segregated account, a constructive trust;
• require Lowe's to disclose to the court and the class how much it has received and expects to receive; and
• require a fair refund process through which customers can recover the tariff portion of the prices they paid.
It also seeks a declaration that Lowe's must return IEEPA duties passed on to customers, with interest; restitution of the tariff overcharges; damages under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, including up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages per violation for willful violations, interest and attorneys' fees.
The Ohio claim is built around a detail of that statute: it covers unfair or deceptive acts before, during or after a consumer transaction. The complaint argues that keeping a refund of a charge the customer effectively paid is exactly the kind of after-the-sale conduct the law reaches. Whether a court agrees is an open question.
Where Does This Fit in the Tariff Refund Lawsuits?
Lowe's joins a growing list of retailers and brands sued on the same theory since the Supreme Court ruling, including Target, Amazon, Dollar Tree, which was sued the same day as Lowe's, and toolmaker Stanley Black & Decker over DEWALT prices. Most pair unjust enrichment with a state consumer statute. The Lowe's complaint stands out for giving the freeze request its own count, arguing that refunds commingled with general corporate funds could become impossible to trace before any judgment. None of these cases has produced a settlement. Our tariff class action tracker follows every one.Lowe's is a defendant in a separate, unrelated case in California over license plate cameras in its parking lots. The two lawsuits have nothing to do with each other.
What Happens Next?
Lowe's had not filed a response as of the last docket update; the court issued a summons for service on September 4, 2026. Next steps would typically be a motion to dismiss, where Lowe's can be expected to argue that consumers have no claim to a refund paid to the importer of record. No class has been certified. If the case survives and ends in a settlement, OCA will publish how to file. Until then, there is nothing to sign up for with the court or Lowe's.Questions
What is the Lowe's tariff refund class action about?
McCoy v. Lowe's Companies, Inc. is a proposed class action filed September 3, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. It alleges Lowe's raised prices to pass on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and that after the Supreme Court held those tariffs unlawful, Lowe's began collecting refunds of the duties from the government without returning any of the money to the customers who allegedly paid it. Lowe's has not been found liable, and the allegations are unproven.
Is there a Lowe's tariff settlement or claim form?
No. This is a newly filed lawsuit, not a settlement. There is no settlement fund, no claim form, no payout and no deadline. No class has been certified. Anyone asking for a fee or personal information to join a Lowe's tariff refund is not connected to the case.
Who would be included in the Lowe's tariff class action?
The complaint proposes a nationwide class of all persons who bought, from any Lowe's retail channel, any product subject to the IEEPA tariffs between February 1, 2025 and February 24, 2026, plus an Ohio class of Ohio buyers over the same period. Lowe's employees, officers and affiliates and the judge are excluded. These are proposed definitions only; the court has not certified any class.
Has Lowe's received tariff refunds?
Yes, in part. Lowe's reported that its second-quarter 2026 results included an $0.11-per-share benefit from IEEPA tariff refunds, which the complaint and the company's earnings call put at about $80 million, and said it is filing for additional refunds. The company excluded any further refunds from its outlook because of uncertain timing. Whether any of that money belongs to customers is the disputed question in the lawsuit.
What does the lawsuit ask the court to do?
The complaint asks the court to bar Lowe's from spending its IEEPA tariff refunds while the case is pending, to hold them in a segregated account as a constructive trust, to make Lowe's disclose how much it has received and expects to receive, and to require a refund process for customers. It also seeks restitution, damages under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, interest and attorneys' fees.
Read the Complaint
Sources
• McCoy v. Lowe's Companies, Inc., No. 5:26-cv-02156-JRA (N.D. Ohio), Class Action Complaint filed September 3, 2026 (embedded above), and docket via CourtListener• Lowe's Companies, Inc., second quarter 2026 results, August 19, 2026, and the accompanying earnings call
• Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (U.S. Feb. 20, 2026)
• OCA explainers: IEEPA and importer of record
