Tag: coffee
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Court Applies De Minimis Defense to Wage-and-Hour Claim Against Starbucks
A federal court in California has determined that the tasks an employee performed only when working the closing shift for Starbucks Corp. consumed a de minimis amount of time and thus dismissed his claims that the company violated the state Labor Code by failing to pay him for that time. Troester v. Starbucks Corp., No. 12-7677…
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New Book About Caffeine Generates Buzz
Mother Jones has published a March 5, 2014, interview with journalist Murray Carpenter about his forthcoming book, Caffeinated: How Our Daily Habit HelpsUs, Hurts, and Hooks Us, which aims to “bring us the inside perspective at the additive that Salt Sugar Fat overlooked.” Speaking with Maddie Oatman about “how much caffeine is healthy, where the…
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Single-Serve Coffee Maker Alleges Unfair Competition in Market
TreeHouse Foods, Inc. has filed an antitrust and unfair competition lawsuit against Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc. and Keurig, Inc., alleging that they have undertaken a series of unlawful practices that have allowed them to dominate the single-serve coffee market, despite the expiration of their “K-Cup” patents in 2012. TreeHouse Foods, Inc. v. Green Mountain…
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Putative Class Claims Decaffeinated Coffee Labels Mislead
A California resident has filed a putative statewide class action against Ralphs Grocery Co., alleging that it misleads consumers by labeling its decaffeinated coffee products as “without caffeine” when they are actually, according to labeling fine print, “99.7% caffeine free.” Kopalian v. Ralphs Grocery Co., No. BC533846 (Cal. Super. Ct., Los Angeles Cty., filed January…
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Single-Serve Coffee Class Denied Certification
A federal court in Illinois has denied a request that it reconsider an earlier order denying certification of a multi-state class of single-serve coffee purchasers allegedly deceived into believing that the product was ground coffee and not instant; the court has also granted the defendants’ motions for summary judgment. Suchanek v. Sturm Foods, Inc., No. 11-565…
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No Class Certification for Plaintiffs Alleging Fraud in Sale of Coffee Product
A federal court in Illinois has refused to certify a multistate class of consumers who were allegedly deceived under the consumer protection statutes and unjust enrichment laws of eight named states by a company that, at one time, either misrepresented or failed to indicate that its single serving coffee product contained “instant” or “soluble” coffee…
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Starbucks’ Tip-Distribution Policy Upheld in New York
Answering two of the questions certified to it by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, New York’s high court has determined that Starbucks Corp. can, under the state’s Labor Law, distinguish among its employees for purposes of sharing the tips customers leave in a jar on the counter. Barenboim v. Starbucks Corp., Winans v. Starbucks Corp.,…
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Federal Court Approves Starbucks’ Settlement of Wage-and-Hour Class Action
A federal court in California has preliminarily approved a $3 million settlement of claims by state Starbucks Corp. employees that the company denied them off-duty breaks because its busy stores were understaffed and the company required employees to take their breaks on-duty if only two employees were present. York v. Starbucks Corp., No. 08-7919 (C.D.…