A federal judge said two Starbucks customers may pursue a lawsuit accusing the coffee chain of cheating patrons by underfilling lattes.
In a decision on Friday, US district judge Thelton Henderson in San Francisco said the California plaintiffs may seek damages for fraud and false advertising from Starbucks Corp in their proposed nationwide class action.
According to the lawsuit Starbucks is skimping on one of a latte’s main ingredients: milk.
“A latte is a coffee drink made with espresso and steamed milk,” the lawsuit claims, explaining that caffè latte is Italian for “milk coffee”. “Traditionally, a latte is created by mixing steamed milk and espresso, which is then topped with a thin layer of milk foam.”
The coffee giant was accused of overcharging customers by systematically serving lattes that are 25% too small, based on a recipe it adopted in 2009 to save money on milk.
The two plaintiffs, Siera Strumlauf of San Francisco and Benjamin Robles of Carlsbad, said Starbucks requires baristas to use pitchers for heating milk with etched “fill to” lines that are too low, and to leave a 1/4 inch of free space in drink cups.
“By underfilling its lattes, thereby shortchanging its customers, Starbucks has saved countless millions of dollars in the cost of goods sold and was unjustly enriched by taking payment for more product than it delivers,” the suit reads.
The plaintiffs argued that this policy short-changes customers because Starbucks’ cups for tall, grande and venti lattes hold exactly 12, 16 and 20 ounces. Those measurements are advertised on the menu boards in the stores, but when served to customers the lattes do not actually contain that much fluid, they argued.
“This is not a case where the alleged deception is simply implausible as a matter of law,” Henderson wrote. “The court finds it probable that a significant portion of the latte-consuming public could believe that a ‘Grande’ contains 16 ounces of fluid.”
Henderson did not rule on the case’s merits. He dismissed three of the plaintiffs’ eight claims against Seattle-based Starbucks, as well as their request for injunctive relief.
When the lawsuit was first filed, Jeff Rossen, a reporter for the Today Show, purchased Starbucks lattes at six different New York locations to find out how many fluid ounces customers were “really getting”. None of his six lattes contained 16 ounces as advertised – one contained less than 12 ounces after the foam settled.
“In the food science community, as well as in the weights and measures community, foam is not measured on a volumetric basis,” the plaintiffs argued in their suit.
At the time, Starbucks called Rossen’s experiment “unscientific”.
A Starbucks spokesman, Reggie Borges, on Monday said the company believes the lawsuit is without merit and is prepared to defend itself against the remaining claims. He also said that if a customer is not satisfied with how a beverage is prepared, “we will gladly remake it”.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment.
In May, another lawsuit was brought against Starbucks – this time by a Chicago woman who claimed that she was served too much ice and too little caffeine in her Starbucks’ cold beverages.
According to Starbucks, this lawsuit was also without merit.
“Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it,” the company said in a statement.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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