(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp has won the dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit
accusing the coffee chain of overcharging customers by underfilling
lattes and mochas to reduce milk costs.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Friday found a lack of
evidence that Starbucks cheats customers by making its cups too small,
using “fill-to” lines on baristas’ pitchers that are too low, and
instructing baristas to skimp on ingredients, such as by leaving a
quarter-inch of space atop drinks.
The Oakland, California-based
judge also rejected a claim that milk foam added to lattes and mochas
should not count toward advertised volumes. She said reasonable
customers expect foam to take up some volume, and the plaintiffs
conceded that foam is an essential ingredient in their drinks.
“Accordingly,
plaintiffs fail to show that lattes contain less than the promised
beverage volume represented on Starbucks’ menu boards,” Rogers wrote.
Lawyers
for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond on Sunday to requests
for comment. Starbucks did not immediately respond to similar requests.
Lattes contain espresso, steamed milk and foam. Mochas are similar but also contain a chocolate sauce.
Siera
Strumlauf and Benjamin Robles, both of California, and Brittany
Crittenden of New York had accused Starbucks in their proposed
nationwide class action of fraud and false advertising by underfilling
12-, 16- and 20-ounce lattes by about 25 percent, causing unspecified
damages.
Starbucks countered that its cups hold more than the
advertised number of ounces, and that the “fill-to” lines provide
guidance to baristas as to how much cold milk, which expands when
steamed, to pour into pitchers.
In 2016, two federal
judges dismissed separate lawsuits accusing the Seattle-based company of
cheating customers who bought iced beverages, finding that reasonable
customers would understand that ice counts toward their drinks’
contents.
The case is Strumlauf et al v Starbucks Corp, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-01306.