A woman fed up with paying for Starbucks iced coffee that is nearly half-filled with ice has filed a $5 million class action lawsuit in federal court in Chicago.
The woman, Stacey Pincus, says customers are being fooled because iced drinks have only half the amount of coffee that is advertised.
For example, customers who order a 24-oz Venti iced coffee receive only about 14-oz of coffee because “large pieces of ice take up more space.” Hardly rocket science, but does it amount to fraud?
According to the lawsuit: “If a gallon of gas is advertised as costing three dollars, and a customer pays three dollars and pumps gas, that customer is expecting to receive a gallon of gas — not approximately half a gallon.”
Starbucks called the lawsuit “absurd” and said their customers expect and understand that “ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage.” The company said it will gladly remake any beverage for an unsatisfied customer.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of anyone who bought a Starbucks iced beverage in the last 10 years. The case is Pincus v. Starbucks Corp., Case No.1:16-cv-04705, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
This is not the first time Starbucks has been in hot water for under-filling its drinks. Last month, another class action accused Starbucks of selling 16-oz lattes that contain less than 12-oz of milk and 2-oz of espresso, which is only 14-oz after the foam settles.
In recent years, other corporations have been accused of short-changing their customers. Last year, StarKist paid $12 million to end a class action accusing them of under-filling tuna cans by nearly 20%. Similar lawsuits are now pending against Safeway and Trader Joe’s.
In 2013, Subway was accused of violating false advertising laws by selling “Footlong” subs that were only 11-inches. After two years of litigation and a $520,000 settlement, Subway agreed to make its sandwiches bigger — but ended its long-running “$5 Footlong” deal.
Source: Courthouse News