Ridiculous Starbucks’ Lawsuits

An Illinois woman, Stacy Pincus, has filed a suit against Starbucks for $5 million over the amount of ice used in its drinks.

Woman files $5 million lawsuit against Starbucks for putting too much ice in her drinks https://t.co/JSZcixq83L pic.twitter.com/QFkeMFKuFP

— HuffPost (@HuffPost) May 1, 2016

Pincus filed the class action lawsuit against Starbucks Corp. in Northern Illinois Federal Court Wednesday, according to court documents.

The suit states that because of the amount of ice Starbucks uses in their iced beverages, customers often end up with half of the amount of drink that is listed on Starbucks’ menus in fluid ounces. The lawsuit alleges that Starbucks is purposefully tricking customers into paying for more product than what they are provided with, reports NBC News.

A portion of the formal complaint reads, “A Starbucks customer who orders a Venti cold drink receives only 14 fluid ounces of that drink — just over half the advertised amount… In essence, Starbucks is advertising the size of its cold drink cups on its menu, rather than the amount of fluid a customer will receive when they purchase a cold drink — and deceiving its customers in the process.”

Pincus’ suit suggests that Starbucks start using larger cups so that the company can sell the amount of advertised liquid, as well as ice.

According to the class action suit, Pincus is suing on the behalf of any customer who has bought a cold drink at Starbucks within the past 10 years.

Chicago law firm, Hart McLaughlin & Eldridge LLC is representing Pincus, according to court documents.

The Seattle-based coffee giant claims that the suit is “absurd.”

“Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced beverage,'” Starbucks said in a statement. Adding that it will gladly remake any beverage for an unsatisfied customer.

Just last month, the company was sued for under-filling its lattes. The lawsuit claimed that the chain’s lattes were 25 percent smaller than the menu suggests.

The lawsuit was filed as a class action suit in the U.S. district court of Northern California.

According to the court complaint, “Starbucks Lattes are made from a standardized recipe, which Starbucks instituted in 2009 to save on the cost of milk — one of its most expensive ingredients.” The suit argues that the “fill to” lines etched on the pitchers used by baristas to heat milk result in drinks that don’t measure up to the tall [12 ounce], grande [16 ounce], and venti [20 ounce] cup sizes listed on the menu. “By under-filling 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.”

Lawsuit: Starbucks underfills its lattes https://t.co/jCAWnVAZmQ pic.twitter.com/0BvHj66V6F

— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) April 5, 2016

Like the Pincus suit, the California lawsuit was also filed on behalf of all U.S. class members who purchased a Starbucks latte – which is basically everyone in California.

“We are aware of the plaintiffs’ claims, which we fully believe to be without merit. We are proud to serve our customers high-quality, handcrafted and customized beverages, and we inform customers of the likelihood of variations,” a Starbucks spokesperson told Eater in a statement.

And, as if too much ice and under-filled cups wasn’t ridiculous enough, Christopher Romano filed a suit against Starbucks after he allegedly suffered second degree burns to his groin during a May, 2015, visit to a Starbucks drive-thru window in Pompano Beach, Florida, according to the South Florida Reporter.

Not only was Romano suing for an “exceedingly hot” beverage, but he also claimed that the employee deliberately spilled the beverage on him.

According to the complaint filed in Fort Lauderdale’s Broward Circuit Court, “As the Starbucks employee handed the coffee to [Romano], the employee failed to confirm [Romano’s] hold of the cup and, as a result, the employee let go of the cup before it was secured by [Romano], causing the entire contents of the hot coffee to fall into [Romano’s] lap.” Per the South Florida Reporter, Romano filed for “damages in excess of $15,000” for the company’s negligence.

[Photo by Stephen Chernin/Getty Images]