LEONIA – A lawsuit alleging Costco illegally charged New Jersey residents sales tax for toilet paper has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge.

Robert Arnold of Leonia filed suit after claiming the wholesaler charged him and his wife 7 percent sales tax on toilet paper twice in 2015 – once at the Wayne store and another time at the Hackensack store, which has since moved to Teterboro.

According to the New Jersey Sales Tax Guide, sales of disposable household paper products such as toilet tissue are exempt from sales tax.

An attorney for Arnold initiated a class-action lawsuit on Sept. 16, 2016, accusing Costco of fraud, unjust enrichment and negligence. The suit claimed the wholesaler violated the New Jersey Consumer Protection Act, the Truth-In-Consumer Contract Warranty and Notice Act, and New Jersey common law.

Attorneys for Costco argued the suit should be thrown out of court because New Jersey has an exclusive statutory procedure and remedy for the recovery of improperly collected sales tax and that the plaintiffs “refused to follow” the procedure.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls on March 20 dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.

Attorneys for Arnold and Costco did not return calls seeking comment.

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.