Supreme Court Will Hear Toymaker Rick Woldenberg ’81’s Tariff Case

Woldenberg says President Trump’s tariffs would be disastrous for this fourth-generation family business

Front view of the U.S. Supreme Court building which is white stone and a staircase leading up to the eight pillars.

U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington D.C.

Jim Glab/Adobe Stock

By David Silverberg

Published Sept. 17, 2025

1 min read

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up Rick Woldenberg ’81’s tariff case against the Trump administration, which was ruled illegal by a lower court in May and appealed by the administration.

“It was very gratifying to hear about our case going to the Supreme Court,” says Woldenberg, adding that his lawyer is preparing to argue their case in early November. Woldenberg says he views the outcome of this case as a “substantive ruling whether the tariffs are lawful or not, and if they aren’t, the court will then have to make provisions to fashion a remedy.”

Rick Woldenberg ’81

Courtesy of Rick Woldenberg ’81

On Sept. 9, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear oral arguments from two cases related to businesses seeking to reverse the tariff decision, including the suit that Woldenberg’s toy-making companies, Learning Resources and hand2mind, brought against the administration earlier this year.

In early September, Learning Resources filed a letter requesting that the Supreme Court hear its case before it goes through the normal appeals process. The letter called the lawfulness of the tariffs “an issue of urgent importance that all parties agree must be resolved by this Court.”

The law at the heart of the case is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 decision that allows the president to take action to “deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.”

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In April, Woldenberg filed a lawsuit against the administration, saying tariffs would be disastrous for this fourth-generation family business, which mainly outsources the manufacturing process of its toys to China. His import costs would rise from $2.3 million to about $100 million. A U.S. District Court ruling in May found that President Donald Trump had overstepped his authority, and the government has appealed that decision.

“This feels like we’re taking on a huge responsibility, and we’re acutely aware this could be a historic case,” says Woldenberg.

He told PAW in June, “I’m inclined to stand up when my company is in genuine peril, and my hope is that by making a lot of noise, it can be safer for other people to stand up.”

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