An Illinois woman has filed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks for $5 million, accusing the coffee giant of using too much ice in their drinks to increase profit margins.
“The word ‘beverage’ is defined as ‘a drinkable liquid.’ Ice is not a ‘beverage’ by definition. Accordingly, Starbucks actually gives the customer much less beverage in the cold drinks they order and pay for,” the lawsuit says.
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Stacy Pincus filed the lawsuit April 27, claiming that customers often end up with half the amount of drink than the volume advertized on Starbucks menus.
According to NBC News, Starbucks provides guidelines to its baristas outlining specific marks and fill lines on their cups, which suggests Starbucks was purposely overfilling drinks with ice.
“Starbucks’ Cold Drinks are underfilled to make more money and higher profits, to the detriment of consumers who are misled by Starbucks’ intentionally misleading advertising practices,” the lawsuit reads.
“This could be a valid argument,” legal expert Karen Desoto told NBC. “The plaintiff clearly believes that this is an admission that Starbucks knew that they were doing something wrong.”
Pincus filed the suit on behalf of any customer who bought an ice-based drink at Starbucks within the last 10 years.
“The ultimate question is going to be, is ice a fluid or is it going to be considered a solid?” added Desoto.
Starbucks told TMZ, “Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage,” and would provide customers with a new pour if requested.
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