Suit alleges Starbucks underfills lattes

Two Californians have accused Starbucks of underfilling lattes and filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status.

Attorneys representing Californians Siera Strumlauf and Benjamin Robles say Starbucks violated the state’s consumer laws and allege “negligent misrepresentation and fraud,” claiming that Starbucks’ tall latte is not 12 fluid ounces, its grande is not 16 fluid ounces, and its venti is not 20 fluid ounces.

The suit claims each drink is about 25 percent underfilled and says the case should include those who have bought “Caffè Lattes, Flavored Lattes, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Egg Nog Lattes, Skinny Lattes, Skinny Flavored Lattes, Vanilla Lattes, and Skinny Vanilla Lattes.”

In the claim, Stramlauf says she wouldn’t have bought the grande-sized plain and vanilla-flavored lattes she often purchased at a San Francisco Starbucks near her home had she known that they were not 16 fluid ounces.

Robles, who bought a grande-sized plain Starbucks latte in January 2015 in Carlsbad, Calif., says he also would have not bought the drnk had he known that it was underfilled.

A Starbucks spokesperson’s statement sent to media says the company is aware of the lawsuit and discounts it as “without merit.”

You can read more about the case in this Buzzfeed News report and this CBS Los Angeles report.

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 9:53 AM with the headline "Suit alleges Starbucks underfills lattes."