A Chicago Woman Is Suing Starbucks For Putting Ice In Iced Drinks
By Mae Rice in Food on May 2, 2016 6:07PM
A fearless Chicago woman filed a federal lawsuit against Starbucks last week because... well, seemingly because ice takes up space. Stacy Pincus is not wrong that ice takes up space, either! She is right. It is unclear whether that fact alone is grounds for a federal lawsuit, but I guess that's what courts are for now. I miss the past.
Here's what we know so far: The $5 million lawsuit claims that Starbucks' iced beverages contain less liquid than advertised. So like, if you order a 24-ounce iced coffee, you don't get 24 literal fluid ounces of iced coffee because of ice. Sometimes you get "nearly half as many fluid ounces," the lawsuit notes, "by design and corporate... procedure," according to the Associated Press. Starbucks is therefore misleading its customers, the lawsuit argues. The lawsuit specifically accuses Starbucks of "fraud, negligent misrepresentation and unjust enrichment," the Huffington Post reports, because go big or home.
Counterpoint: Starbucks customers "understand and expect" that they'll get ice in their iced drinks, as Starbucks spokesperson Jaime Riley explained to the AP Monday, presumably while sighing loudly. Riley also said that if a customer is unhappy with their drink, it's Starbucks policy to remake it for free.
This lawsuit continues to exist, though, and could become a class-action suit covering customers throughout the past decade. Currently, Pincus is seeking damages, restitution and attorneys fees, according to the AP.