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Update on Trump Tariff Litigation

Los Angeles, Calif. (July 1, 2025) - On May 29, 2025, Lewis Brisbois published a Client Alert entitled “Legal Battle Over Trump Tariffs Intensifies,” analyzing two of the key challenges to President Donald Trump’s recent and wide-ranging tariffs. In this Client Alert, Lewis Brisbois analyzes recent developments in those cases and another tariff-related case, as well as the potential impact of a recent United States Supreme Court decision on the ability of federal courts to restrict tariffs.

V.O.S. Selections v. USA

In V.O.S. Selections v. USA, the Court of International Trade vacated and permanently enjoined certain tariffs President Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (the “IEEPA”). These tariffs included the so-called “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs, as well as tariffs related to international crime. The Court of International Trade concluded that the IEEPA did not provide a legal justification for imposition of those tariffs.

The government promptly appealed the Court of International Trade’s decision. On June 11, 2025, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the V.O.S. Selections case pending appeal, which will be heard en banc (i.e., by the entire Federal Circuit as opposed to a three-judge panel). Oral argument is set for July 31, 2025, so a decision could be rendered later in 2025.

Learning Resources v. Trump

Two private plaintiffs filed Learning Resources v. Trump in the District of Columbia. The district court issued an injunction that applied only to the two plaintiffs on similar grounds as the V.O.S. case. The district court issued a stay of proceedings pending the appeal to the District of Columbia Circuit. Oral argument has not been set but the final brief is not due until mid-August.

California v. Trump

In June 2025, a district court in the Northern District of California granted the federal government’s motion to transfer venue to the Court of International Trade in California v. Trump, California’s challenge to various tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration. California appealed that decision, and the appeal is now pending in the Ninth Circuit.

The Impact of a Recent Supreme Court Decision on Tariff Cases

On June 27, 2025, the United States Supreme Court rendered an opinion in Trump v. Casa, Inc. The Casa case was not a tariff-related case, but could impact V.O.S., California v. Trump, and future tariff cases.

In Casa – an appeal of a universal, or “nationwide,” injunction against enforcement of an executive order pertaining to citizenship – the Court held that district courts are not empowered to issue universal injunctions. In other words, federal courts are now generally only empowered to enjoin enforcement of laws against specific plaintiffs (which presumably can include classes in class action matters).

Casa may therefore provide the federal government with another basis to attack the V.O.S. case, California v. Trump case, and other tariff-related cases. If, for example, the Federal Circuit ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in V.O.S., it appears that the court would then remand the case back to the Court of International Trade to narrowly tailor the injunction to the specific plaintiffs at issue. Casa, notably, should not affect the Learning Resources decision, which enjoined certain tariffs only with respect to the two plaintiffs at issue.

Key Takeaways

As tariff-related litigation proceeds in the federal appellate court system, the Supreme Court handed the Trump Administration a major victory in the Casa decision that may make judicial challenges much more cumbersome and complicated. The result may lead to an increasing patchwork of decisions across the country in which policy initiatives like tariffs are found applicable to some parties but not others while the individual cases work their way up to the Supreme Court. The practical implications of this situation are significant, and will likely create new pressure for litigants to seek class certification in challenging presidential actions that have nationwide impacts.

Lewis Brisbois’s attorneys are actively engaged in the wide range of legal issues in this area and are advising clients on managing legal and business risk as events continue to develop at an accelerated pace. For more information, contact the author or editors of this alert. Visit our Ukraine Conflict, International Trade, Export, Import and Investment Controls & National Security Practice page for additional alerts in this area.

Author:

Griffen Thorne, Partner

Editors:

Andrew Pidgirsky, Partner and Chair of Ukraine Conflict, International Trade, Export, Import and Investment Controls & National Security Practice

Jane C. Luxton, Managing Partner - Washington, D.C.

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