That Time Someone Sued Starbucks Over Its Ice
These days, it seems like people sue for almost anything and everything. There was the group that recently sued Kellogg's because they felt mislead that its Strawberry Frosted Pop-Tarts didn't contain as much whole fruit as they expected. Then there was the person who tried to sue Burger King over its Impossible Whopper, claiming it couldn't be marketed as vegan because it's cooked on the same grill as the chain's beef patties.
Like many fast food restaurants and food and drink brands, Starbucks hasn't escaped the rash of lawsuits over the years. One of the more ridiculous cases occurred in the last few years, when an unhappy customer sued the national coffee chain over its iced drinks (via My Recipes). Their argument? That iced beverages shouldn't contain so much, uh, ice. Here's what happened with the lawsuit — and why your iced coffee still has plenty of cubes to keep it cold.
The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge
Here's how the Starbucks saga began: A California man filed a class action lawsuit against the mega chain, claiming that Starbucks was misleading customers with its iced beverages (via The Guardian). As the ice took up too much room in the cup, he alleged that it cheated people out of as much as 10 ounces of liquid. If you think it sounds ridiculous to require Starbucks to put less ice in its iced drinks, you aren't alone.
The federal judge ultimately dismissed the lawsuit, stating, "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 (via My Recipes)." So if you're a fan of iced caramel macchiatos or just a plain old iced coffee, you can rest easy knowing your next Starbucks drink order will arrive nice and cold.