Eva St. Clair and Rebecca Melsky, co-owners of a children’s fashion brand and Small Businesses Against Tariffs participants, were quoted in Evanston Round Table talking about the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling:
When the Supreme Court handed down its decision striking down tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Feb. 20, Rebecca Melsky and Eva St. Clair, co-founders of the children’s clothing company Princess Awesome, weren’t paying attention to the news.
For weeks, the pair, whose company manufactures colorful, STEM- and interest-themed apparel for kids and adults, had been tracking the possible decision.
Their own case had been stayed pending the outcome of a sister case involving the Illinois-based company Learning Resources, which also challenged the legality of the tariffs. A ruling in Learning Resources’ favor would effectively mean a win for them as well. Learning Resources, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit with 500 employees, has paid more than $14 million this year in tariffs, up from $2 million last year, according to a company spokesperson.
Princess Awesome is much smaller than Learning Resources — it has a total of three employees, but the tariffs presented a similar obstacle, putting the life of the business in danger, according to its two founders.
The day before the decision came down, Melsky and St. Clair’s attorneys reassured them that a ruling was unlikely to arrive the next morning.
“Our lawyers were like, ‘We don’t think it’s coming tomorrow. It seems like it’s probably not going to be out till June,’” Melsky said.
So that Friday, Feb. 20, when the court was scheduled to release opinions, Melsky made a deliberate choice not to keep tabs on it.
“I wasn’t even paying attention because I was like, ‘Oh, it’s not coming. I’m not going to stress myself out,’” Melsky said.
Then her phone buzzed. A lawyer friend informed her via text: The tariffs had been struck down.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ And I started screaming, and I immediately called Eva, and she came over, and we went for a celebratory lunch, and we were so excited,” Melsky said. “We know that this does not mean we’re never paying tariffs again, but this is certainly a win, and we’re celebrating that win.”
Their lawyers at Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public-interest law firm representing them, sent an email that same day: “We won this.”