Supreme Court will soon hear Illinois toy company’s case against Trump-era tariffs

CHICAGO - In exactly one week, a suburban toy company will present its fight over tariffs before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Based in Vernon Hills, the family-owned business sued the Trump administration in April, arguing that the president does not have the constitutional or statutory authority to impose tariffs.

Now, company executives are preparing to travel to Washington, D.C., where the nation's highest court will hear their case. 

What we know:

The toy company, which is made up of several educational brands including Learning Resources and hand2mind, has been locked in a legal battle over President Donald Trump's tariffs since the spring.

In its lawsuit, the company argues that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Trump invoked does not authorize him to impose tariffs.

"Our products are manufactured all over the world. In April, when the reciprocal tariff policy launched, and in particular, when the rates on China went to 145%, it became an effective ban on our products that were coming in from overseas, because they were becoming so expensive that nobody could afford them," explained Elana Ruffman, an executive for the company. "We decided to bring a lawsuit because we were facing sudden death."

A lower court originally sided with the century-old business, but Trump appealed the decision. In June, SCOTUS agreed to take the case, scheduling oral arguments for early November.

Now just days away from the hearing, Ruffman, is preparing for her trip to the nation's capital alongside her family. She says their fight is about protecting what they've built and who they employ. 

Ruffman shared that the ever-changing tariffs have cost the company millions of dollars, forcing them to rapidly alter where and how they manufacture their products.

"Every time you move a product, it costs money. We estimate that it costs about $5,000 every time we move a product because you have to update the product. Every product you buy says where it was made, so there is a cost to change that. Then you actually have to move, if it's plastic, the steel that's used to make the product. You have to pay for the freight to get it there," said Ruffman.

Ruffman, who is the vice president of marketing and product development for hand2mind, offered a snapshot of how much Trump's trade policies have cost the business: "In 2024, we paid about $2 million in tariffs. In 2025, we project that we will pay $14 million in tariffs."

The company's lawsuit, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Donald Trump, has been combined with two others. On the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 5, attorneys for Learning Resources and the other plaintiffs will stand before the justices and argue their case.

What they're saying:

The U.S. Supreme Court only hears several dozen cases per year. UIC Professor of Law Steven Schwinn said it is rare for a case to make it this far.

"The Supreme Court gets to decide the cases that it's going to hear, and it chooses just a handful — about 70 every year — out of thousands, even tens of thousands of applications to appeals to the court," Schwinn explained.

Pages and pages of briefs have already been filed in the case. Now, during their day in the high court, SCOTUS will hear oral arguments from both sides.

"This is a hugely important case. It's hugely important economically. It's hugely important politically. It's hugely important for the plaintiff companies that have filed suit," Schwinn said. "I do expect that the justices are going ask a lot of questions of both sides, and I expect that oral arguments will go on for quite some time, probably well over an hour."

The justices won't issue a ruling on the case next Wednesday; instead, their opinion could take several weeks or even months.

If SCOTUS agrees that the tariffs are unlawful, Schwinn explained that predicting exactly how they will remedy the situation is tricky.

"The Supreme Court could order some backpay on the part of the government to some of these companies, maybe all of the companies who have been affected by tariffs if the court rules that the tariffs are unlawful. That seems like a perfectly reasonable remedy in an ordinary case, but this is an extraordinary case," Schwinn shared. "We're talking about a ton of money and we're talking about trying to figure out exactly how these companies have been impacted on a company basis. That could be a tricky thing, how they've been impacted by the tariffs and how much the government would owe them back. It's really difficult to know exactly how the court could remedy this situation if the court rules that the tariffs are unlawful."

What's next:

The Woldenberg family, which owns the toy company, will travel to Washington, D.C. this week to meet with their attorneys in advance of next week's oral arguments. 

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