星巴克的拿铁没装满 美国法官说可以起诉

Two people who accused Starbucks of deliberately underfilling lattes can continue their lawsuit after a federal judge in California dismissed three counts against the beverage retailer but allowed five to remain.

加利福尼亚州一位联邦法官对星巴克(Starbucks)被控的罪名做出了三项驳回，但做出了五项保留的决定。两名消费者在之后可继续控告这家饮品零售商故意提供不足量的拿铁咖啡。

The plaintiffs, Siera Strumlauf and Benjamin Robles, contended in a class-action complaint filed in March that the popular drinks were underfilled by about 25 percent of their advertised sizes: 12, 16 and 20 ounces.

原告谢拉·斯特鲁姆劳夫(Siera Strumlauf)和本杰明·罗布尔斯(Benjamin Robles)在3月提起的集体诉讼中认为，星巴克那些受欢迎的饮品比该公司对外公开的12、16和20盎司的分量少了大约25%。

Starbucks had argued that a “reasonable consumer” would not have been misled.

星巴克称“通情达理的顾客”不会被误导。

But Judge Thelton Henderson of United States District Court in San Francisco said in his ruling on Friday, “This is not a case where the alleged deception is simply implausible as a matter of law.”

但周五当天，旧金山联邦地区法院(United States District Court in San Francisco)的法官特尔顿·亨德森(Thelton Henderson)在判决中表示，“就这起案件而言，被控的欺骗行为从法律角度来看并非是不可信的。”

“The court finds it probable that a significant portion of the latte-consuming public could believe that a ‘Grande’ contains 16 ounces of fluid, measured without milk foam or in its cooled state,” he wrote. “If nothing else, it is probable enough that the issue should be decided by a trier of fact, not on a motion to dismiss.”

“法庭的结论是，有可能大量喝拿铁咖啡的消费者认为，奶泡不计在内时或处于不热的状态下，‘大杯’拿铁内装有16盎司咖啡，”他写道。“在不考虑其他问题的情况下，这个可能性已经够大，因而应该用事实进行审判，而不是通过驳回案件的动议来决定这个问题。”

In their complaint, the plaintiffs said Starbucks used cups that held the advertised amounts only when filled to the brim, but that the drinks were not filled that high. They said that in 2009, Starbucks made a “conscious decision” to save money on milk by using pitchers with etched-in “fill to” lines that were too low, and the recipe required baristas to fill a quarter-inch below the brim of the cups, the lawsuit says.

本案原告称，星巴克用的杯子只有装满后才能达到广告中的分量，但实际上杯子并未装那么满。他们在诉讼中表示，2009年，星巴克“有意决定”通过使用“量满”刻度线非常低的奶壶来节省牛奶成本，且配方要求咖啡师在注入咖啡时至杯沿以下四分之一英寸（约合0.6厘米）处即可。

In a statement, Starbucks said the lawsuit was “without merit.”

星巴克在一份声明中表示，诉讼“毫无依据”。

“All of our handcrafted beverages are made in accordance with our customers’ preferences,” the company said. “If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it. We will be prepared to defend our case in court.”

“我们手工调制的所有饮品均参考了顾客的喜好，”该公司称。“如果顾客对饮品的配制不满意，我们乐意重做。我们会做好出庭抗辩的准备。”

It’s not the first time that Starbucks has been sued over its drinks. A separate class-action lawsuit in April by Stacey Pincus of Chicago accused the company of putting too much ice in cold drinks, leaving consumers with just over half the amount they paid for, according to Courthouse News.

这不是星巴克首次因其提供的饮品而被告上法庭。据“法院新闻”(Courthouse News)报道，在4月的另一场集体诉讼中，芝加哥的斯泰茜·平卡斯(Stacey Pincus)控告星巴克在冷饮中加的冰块太多，导致消费者拿到的饮料只略多于其应有分量的一半。

Starbucks called that lawsuit “without merit,” as well.

星巴克同样称那起诉讼“毫无依据”。