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Hermès Faces Renewed Legal Challenge as Consumers Appeal Birkin Bag Ruling

By  |  October 8, 2025

Three California consumers are taking their legal fight against French luxury fashion house Hermès to the next level, announcing plans to ask a federal appeals court to revive their proposed class action that challenges how the company sells its iconic Birkin handbags. The move comes after a federal judge in San Francisco dismissed their lawsuit last month, according to Reuters.

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    The plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge James Donato’s decision. Their lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused Hermès of violating U.S. antitrust laws by conditioning access to its highly coveted Birkin bags on the purchase of other luxury goods. According to Reuters, the plaintiffs claimed that Hermès required customers to spend thousands of dollars on accessories such as scarves and jewelry before being deemed “eligible” to buy a Birkin.

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    The complaint alleged that Hermès and its sales associates “know that many of the people they induce to buy ancillary products will not in fact get a Birkin bag.” Both Hermès and the consumers’ attorneys declined to comment when asked by Reuters.

    Related: US Judge Tosses Antitrust Suit Against Hermès Over Birkin Sales

    Hermès, which has consistently denied any wrongdoing, defended its practices in court, arguing that its handbags are sold in a competitive market and that its approach does not violate antitrust laws. The company emphasized that Birkin bags are handmade, exclusive, and often priced in the tens of thousands of dollars. Judge Donato agreed, ruling that the plaintiffs failed to establish a plausible definition of the relevant market or prove that Hermès had market power.

    “It may be, as plaintiffs suggest, that Hermès reserves the Birkin bag for its highest-paying customers, but that in itself is not an antitrust violation,” Donato wrote in his decision. At a prior hearing, he also remarked that if Hermès “chooses to make five Birkin bags a year and charge a million to them, it can do that.”

    The case, Tina Cavalleri et al v. Hermès International et al, is being heard in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California under case number 3:24-cv-01707-JD. The plaintiffs are represented by Joshua Haffner of Haffner Law and Shaun Setareh of Setareh Law Group, while Hermès is represented by Christopher Yates, Belinda Lee, and Ashley Bauer of Latham & Watkins.

    Source: Reuters