Freestyle World, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Ct. Int’l Trade Oct. 8, 2026)(Slip Op. 26-123).
On October 8, 2026, Judge Eaton of the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) certified a class of “[a]ll importers of record who paid duties imposed by” the orders implementing IEEPA tariffs between February 1, 2025 and February 19, 2026, excepting importers that have already filed their own claims. The class seeks an injunction directing liquidation or reliquidation of entries without regard to IEEPA duties.
This class will cover any importer with liquidated entries that has not yet filed a claim in the CIT. Notably, it will include all importers who paid IEEPA duties but have for whatever reason not taken advantage of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (“CAPE”) program. “It is believed,” the Court wrote, “that these are overwhelmingly small importers who, because of the cost or effort involved in filing a CAPE declaration, or because they are unaware of the program, will never take advantage of CAPE.” Id. at 7. In choosing to certify the Freestyle World class, the Court rejected the narrower approach of another proposed class action, which would have only provided broader access to CAPE. The Court’s approach suggests that it envisions a program providing refunds even to importers who never use the CAPE system through the mechanism of recoveries to the class. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued for certification on the basis that “[c]ertification of a class action provides the means to authorize comprehensive notice” and that class treatment “ensures court supervisions of the refund process.”
For importers that have not yet filed suit, the surest and quicker path remains filing an individual action for reliquidation in the CIT. But for many importers who have not taken action thus far, it may be sufficient to rely on the class. While there are always risks in litigation, the issues in this case are likely to be governed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision invalidating the IEEPA tariffs. There can be little doubt about how Judge Eaton will approach these issues; he has made his interest in providing a full recovery to importers clear repeatedly.
It is unclear how the Freestyle litigation will proceed. There is no dispositive motion pending at present. Plaintiffs may move for summary judgment. Were they to prevail, the class mechanism would take months to unfold. Notice would need to be provided to class members, and a fairness hearing would typically be held concerning the resolution of the case. It could take a year or more for money to be paid to class members if the class prevails on its claims. For some importers – particularly those smaller importers that the Court is attentive to protect, and any importer with liquidated claims that has for whatever reason not filed its own claims at this point – it may seem an appropriate calculation of risk, time and attention to wait and see what recovery they may obtain through the class.
In other news, a CBT executive director stated on October 6, 2026, that as of the prior week the CAPE program had accepted $136.6 billion in potential refunds and paid $126 billion. On October 6th, the CAPE phase 3 program was implemented. Within hours, 477 declarations for Phase III refunds were filed. Instructions will be provided for Phase III claimants who filed after July 30, 2026.
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