Woman Sues Starbucks Over Home-Brewing Discs, Settles for $250
A Michigan woman who filed suit against Starbucks after the company stopped making single-serve coffee discs for her brand of coffee maker has settled her lawsuit.
How much was the woman able to get out of Starbucks and Kraft Foods, the maker of her Tassimo coffee maker, after two-and-a half-years of litigation? $250, reports The Grand Rapids Press.
What led to this slow-brewed settlement and why might this it end up costing Starbucks a lot more than $250 when all is said and done?
Starbucks, Kraft Intentionally Misled Consumers: Lawsuit
The plaintiff in the lawsuit, Pamella Montgomery of Okemos, claimed that she bought the $100 Tassimo coffee maker made my Kraft because the coffee maker allowed her to brew single-serving cups of Starbucks coffee, characterized by her attorney as "gold." Not long after Montgomery purchased the machine, however, Starbucks stopped making T-Discs for use with the Tassimo machine. Instead, the company began exclusively offering single-serving pods for use with Keurig coffee makers.
Montgomery filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Starbucks and Kraft continued to intentionally mislead customers about the Tassimo machine's ability to brew Starbucks coffee even after knowing that Starbucks was planning to cease production of T-Discs.
Class Action Status Denied
Montgomery sought to have her suit certified as a class action lawsuit, which would have others with similar claims to join in the lawsuit. However, a judge denied the lawsuit class certification, and the parties agreed to settle for $250.
But the companies may not get off that easy; in addition to the $250, Montgomery's lawyer is also seeking $175,000 in attorney's fees which he claims are included in the terms of the settlement.
The settlement still must be approved by the U.S. District Court judge hearing the case. The judge will also determine what, if any, attorney's fees Montgomery's lawyer will receive under the settlement. How's that for a single serving of justice?
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Related Resources:
- Woman Wanted Starbucks Discs, Settles for $250 (Associated Press)
- VA Man Sues Starbucks Over Hidden Toilet Camera (FindLaw's Injured)
- Starbucks Poisoning Suspect Arrested (FindLaw's Blotter)
- Starbucks CEO to Customers: Leave Guns at Home (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
