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Starbucks Lawsuit: Woman Charges Famous Coffee Chain for Using Too Much Ice

Johnson Denise
First Posted: May 04, 2016 04:10 AM EDT

A twenty nine page complaint was issued to Starbucks saying that the famous coffee company is misleading its customers by putting more ice than coffee in their iced beverages.

First, people were suing Starbucks because their coffee was too hot, now a woman filed a $5 million lawsuit against the coffee company for using too much ice in their iced drinks. However, Starbucks says 'ice is an essential component' of their iced beverages.

NBC News reported that Stacy Pincus filed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks Corporation in Northern Illinois Federal Court on Wednesday. Pincus' who ordered a Venti cold drink received only 14 fluid ounces of that drink just over half the advertised amount Starbucks had advertised. The suit states that because of the amount of ice the famous coffee chain uses in their cold drinks, customers end up getting their drinks half of the amount Starbucks has listed.

The complaint also included the company's system of pricing their drinks. Cold drinks have higher prices than hot drinks because it doesn't include ice. Pincus argues that Starbucks is making more money off of customers buying these said cold beverages, The Guardian said.

"The word 'beverage' is defined as 'a drinkable liquid.' Ice is not a 'beverage' by definition. Accordingly, Starbucks actually gives the customer much less beverage in the cold drinks they order and pay for," the lawsuit says.

However, Starbucks believes that the lawsuit is without merit. "Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any 'iced' beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it," Jamie Riley, a spokesperson for Starbucks, told CNN. She also added that Starbucks customers who desire less ice in their beverages have also been known to ask for "light" ice when placing their orders.

"You can order light ice or extra ice on any of our iced beverages," the company tweeted last April.

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