In a California lawsuit, accusations were flying that Starbucks was defrauding customers. What did they do? Allegedly? Claims were made that they were defrauding customers by adding ice to cold beverages. In recent action, Judge Percy Anderson tossed the proposed class-action lawsuit.

The federal judge who stopped the California Starbucks lawsuit in its tracks stated that any reasonable customer would know that ordering iced coffee or iced tea would include ice. He also stated reasoned that customers would be able to see the ice through the plastic cups that the Starbucks iced beverages are served in. He further reasoned that, in fact, even a child would be able to see it and “get it.”

His line of reasoning for opposing the class action status of the California lawsuit continued as he explained that young children learn that they are able to increase the amount of beverage they receive by ordering it with “no ice.” In the ruling Anderson issued in U.S District Court, Anderson supported his action by explaining that if kids have figured out that having ice in a code beverage decreases the amount of liquid they will receive in the cup, the court can only conclude that a reasonable consumer would not be deceived by the presence of ice.

The California lawsuit against Starbucks Corp. was filed in May by Alexander Forouzesh. He claimed fraud, breach of warranty, false advertising, etc. Forouzesh, a Los Angeles resident, insisted that the popular coffee chain was regularly cheating customers out of iced coffee and tea by filing the cups the beverages are served in with ice – “as much as halfway.” After the ruling, Forouzesh stated that he planned to file an appeal and that he was insulted by the judge’s remarks on the matter.

Starbucks, on the other hand, was pleased with both the judge’s decision and his remarks on the matter.

If you have questions about this or other California lawsuits or obtaining class action status for your California suit, please get in touch with the experienced southern California employment law attorneys at Blumenthal, Nordrehaug & Bhowmik.