Food Court Follies—A WLF Legal Pulse Series
In a September 7, 2016 post, we enthusiastically applauded a Central District of California judge’s decision to dismiss, with prejudice, a truly outrageous lawsuit filed against Starbucks. The plaintiff claimed Starbucks misled him into believing that a 12-ounce iced tea or coffee should contain 12 ounces of liquid, and that the ice should not factor into the drink size. The jilted consumer appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit which, on March 12, 2018, finally affirmed the trial court in a three-page unpublished opinion. Forouzesh v. Starbucks Corp.
Misleading?
The three-judge panel agreed with the lower court that no reasonable consumer would be misled in the way Forouzesh claimed to have been, and thus he could not sustain claims under California consumer-protection laws. He also could not prevail in his fraud claim because he could not prove he justifiably relied upon Starbucks’ supposedly misleading product representations. Finally, the trial judge did not abuse his discretion when he dismissed the suit with prejudice, as any amendment Forouzesh made of his complaint would have been futile.
We trust that courts in other jurisdictions entertaining similar (and similarly bogus) claims against Starbucks and other beverage providers will take notice of the outcome, as will elected officials in other states that are reviewing permissive consumer-protection laws.