SOUTH FLORIDA — Six customers in South Florida have filed lawsuits against FedEx and UPS seeking refunds for customs brokerage fees that were nearly as much as the tariff charges themselves. The lawsuits follow last month's Supreme Court ruling that found many of President Donald Trump's tariffs unconstitutional.

At least five similar lawsuits, most seeking class-action status, have been filed against either FedEx or UPS since the Supreme Court's ruling last month. The lawsuits argue that shipping companies did not have the right to charge the brokerage fees and that the shippers owe the customers refunds.

Shipping services including FedEx and UPS added brokerage fees and other charges to the tariff bills they sent customers. In some cases, the brokerage fees totaled as much as the cost of the tariffs themselves.

Morgan & Morgan filed a lawsuit against FedEx over tariffs and brokerage fees. According to court filings, a South Florida resident ordered a pair of tennis shoes from Germany with a declared value of $140. The plaintiff received a $36 bill from FedEx that included $21 in tariffs and $15 in customs brokerage and duty advancement fees.

Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain practice at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, said that FedEx's $15 charge on the shoes seems somewhat excessive for such a low-value consumer good. "FedEx is entitled to some money, but I think it was a little bit too much money," Penfield said.

FedEx charges either $15 or 2% of an item's value, whichever is greater, for shipments valued at less than $800. A FedEx spokesperson said, "If refunds are issued to FedEx, we will issue refunds to the shippers and consumers who originally bore those charges."

FedEx and UPS pay their own in-house brokerage teams to handle many of the tariffed shipments. Courts handling the lawsuits might have to decide how much of the brokerage fees covered actual costs and how much was profit.

Some companies sued the federal government seeking refunds after the Supreme Court ruling. The US government has collected $133 billion in IEEPA tariffs. In its annual report filed earlier this year, UPS said its supply chain solutions business achieved revenue growth of 3.4% driven in part by brokerage results.