Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Starbucks Of Putting Too Much Ice In Iced Coffee

If you feel like you’re getting too much ice and not enough coffee in your Starbucks iced beverages, well, we’ve got some bad news for you: a judge has ruled the chain hasn’t done anything wrong.

To be clear, this case is totally separate from that brought by an Illinois man in May, who claims that Starbucks’cold drinks are almost half ice, though both customers feel shorted: the L.A. resident in this case had alleged that Starbucks was defrauding him and other customers due to overly icy drinks, Buzzfeed News reports.

He claimed that “a Starbucks customer who orders a Venti Cold Drink receives only 14 fluid ounces of that drink — just over half the advertised amount, and just over half the amount for which they are paying.” He stated in his suit that ice isn’t an integral part of the iced coffee, since it’s not a “fluid.”

But a California judge has disagreed, ruling that “a reasonable consumer would understand that the iced beverage that consumer might order from Starbucks will contain some portion of liquid and some portion of ice.”

He went on to expound on the learning experience of young children, who grow up to realize “they can increase the amount of beverage they receive if they order ‘no ice,’ ” the judge wrote:

“If children have figured out that including ice in a cold beverage decreases the amount of liquid they will receive, the Court has no difficulty concluding that a reasonable consumer would not be deceived into thinking that when they order an iced tea, that the drink they receive will include both ice and tea and that for a given size cup, some portion of the drink will be ice rather than whatever liquid beverage the consumer ordered.”

On top of that, Starbucks uses clear cups to measure its cold drinks, which makes it easy to see that the drink will contain both liquid and ice.

Starbucks is happy with the outcome of the case — surprise! — with a spokesperson telling Buzzfeed, “We are pleased with the court’s decision and the judge’s comments on the matter.”

Again, Starbucks is still facing one over-iced iced coffee lawsuit, as well two others that accuse the chain of underfilling its lattes.

Starbucks Can Put As Much Damn Ice As It Wants Into Its Drinks, Judge Rules [Buzzfeed News]

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist