She’s suing Starbucks for $5 million over fruitless drinks

A woman in New York State in the US has been granted permission to sue Starbucks for “false and deceptive practices” after the fast food chain tried to have the case dismissed.

According to the New York Post, Joan Cominis filed a lawsuit against the company in August 2022. The woman was angry when she learned that the “Starbucks Refreshers Strawberry Acai” drink did not actually contain acai.

The disgruntled client and her co-defendant, Jason McAllister of California, are seeking more than $5 million in damages. The lawsuit also covers other drinks sold by Starbucks.

“Unbeknownst to consumers, the mango and dragon fruit soft drinks did not contain mango, the pineapple and passion fruit soft drinks did not contain passion fruit, and the strawberry acai-flavored soft drinks did not contain acai,” court documents filed by plaintiffs state.

The coffee giant responded with a motion to dismiss the case.

However, a US judge on Tuesday rejected that request, saying the general public may have reason to believe the products contain the missing fruit.

However, Starbucks believes that mentioning fruit in the name of its drinks is intended to describe flavors, not ingredients.

In her original complaint, Joan Cominis claimed she treated herself to a drink, thinking she would be consuming healthy acai.

Instead, refreshments consisted mainly of water, concentrated grape juice, and sugar.

“If she had known that the product did not contain acai, she would not have purchased it or would have paid significantly less for it,” the document said.