Starbucks Sued for its "Iced" Coffee.

If you feel cheated by Starbucks when your cup is filled with large amounts of ice, don't worry. You are not alone.

On May 16, Starbucks in Illinois was accused by its customers for putting too much ice in their iced coffee. A group of women sued Starbucks Coffee for 5 million dollars and a court case was directly delivered to the Northern District Court of Illinois on Wednesday in the same week.

According to Starbucks' standard practice, customers must receive a drink that is filled to just above the head of the logo's figure. Ice must be put in after an employee checks and makes sure the drink is filled enough in a customer's cup. However, the local coffee shop in Illinois violated this policy and such common practice has angered its customers for over 10 years.

In order to provide effective evidence and win the court case, the lawsuit offered Starbucks' venti-sized iced coffee as an example. The federal court discovered that for a plastic cup that was supposed to hold 24 fluid ounces, only 14 fluid ounces contained the drink while the remaining was filled with ice.

The typical price for a venti-sized iced coffee in Starbucks is $2.95. Since the accusers have figured out Starbucks' cold drinks are underfilled for the company's higher profits, local customers argue the price of a coffee must be lowered because customers only receive half of the advertised amount of coffee from Starbucks.

Similar opinions were shown in other states. Yoonhye Kim, a frequent customer of Starbucks Coffee in La Crescenta, California, told JSR, "When I buy coffee, I expect my drink to be filled with coffee, not with ice. I would have ordered ice if I wanted ice. If a company really wants to sell its coffee and make profit with its satisfying customer services, it definitely has to lower the price of its drinks."

Dalia Kim, another Starbucks customer in New York City stood on the same side. Kim told JSR, "A company should not trick its customers or take advantage of its name because it actually receives money and gets operated by customers' payment. Starbucks definitely must go easy on ice because I want my money to go to the coffee, not to ice. Hence, Starbucks 'Coffee'".

In the lawsuit filed by the Northern District Court of Illinois, Starbucks has been accused of "fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and breach of implied warranty." If this file gets accepted by the federal court of Chicago, Starbucks should be fined for even more than 5 million dollars, according to the local press.

Money will be used to repay other customers who have overpaid for an over-iced Starbucks drink anytime in the past decade.However, Starbucks Coffee still argues its customers should recognize that ice is an essential component of any iced drinks, including Starbucks venti-sized iced coffee.

Ha Lin Kim, Grade 11

Crescenta Valley High School