Class-action lawsuit: Starbucks non-dairy upcharge violates ADA

DENVER — Starbucks Corp. (Nasdaq: SBUX) owes its customers at least $5 million for charging an additional fee when customers order drinks with non-dairy alternatives to milk, a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a class-action lawsuit filed late last week in Colorado claims. 

“There is no material difference between the price of 2% regular milk and the price of some non-Dairy alternatives that supports levying a blanket surcharge” that typically ranges between 50 cents and 70 cents, “conduct (that) violates the Americans with Disabilities Act,” according to the complaint from Colorado Springs resident Lora Premo, who has a milk allergy. That surcharge represents upward of 15% of the price of an average drink.

“There is no expertise or additional work required of Starbucks employees to substitute whole milk or fat-free milk in place of 2% regular milk, to make caffeine-free or sugar-free beverages, or to substitute non-dairy Alternatives such as soy, almond, coconut, oat, or other lactose-free ‘milk’ in place of 2% regular milk,” the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court said.

Starbucks, the lawsuit claims, does not charge more for non-dairy alternatives at stores in certain European and Asian markets. The coffee chain also does not have upcharges for modifications such as sugar- or caffeine-free orders, the complaint said. 

“Starbucks’ cost for the non-dairy alternatives has no relationship to the amount of the surcharge,” Premo’s attorney Keith Gibson said in statement emailed to BizWest. “Other coffee chains, such as Tim Horton’s and Blue Bottle, do not charge consumers a surcharge for such non-dairy milk alternatives.  Starbucks does not charge a surcharge at many of its international stores.

The lawsuit claims to represent a class of potential plaintiffs that likely numbers in the thousands.

Members of the calls “are entitled to damages according to proof, but in no event less than $5 million,” the complaint said. 

A similar lawsuit was filed against Starbucks, representatives of which did not immediately respond to request for comment, in California this spring.  

The lawsuit is Lora Premo v. Starbucks Corp, case number 1:24-cv-1474, filed May 24 in U.S. District Court in Colorado.

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