Mango, Passion Fruit and Açai weren't being used in drinks advertised as such

Water, grape juice concentrate and sugar was being used

Judge dismissed Starbucks' petition to dismiss claims

US District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan rejected Starbucks’ petition to dismiss nine of the eleven claims in a proposed class action by Joan Kominis, of Astoria, New York, and Jason McAllister, of Fairfield, California. Their appeal was that Starbucks’ Mango, Dragonfruit, Lemonade, Pineapple Passionfruit, Pineapple, Passionfruit, Lemonade, Strawberry Açai and Strawberry Açai Lemonade Refreshers did not contain mango, passion fruit or açai which was advertised. Instead water, grape juice concentrate and sugar was being used. 

U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan denied Starbucks’ request. “The plaintiffs Kominis and Jason McAllister of New York and California, respectively, have adequately alleged that a significant portion of the general consuming public could be misled by the names of the at-issue beverages ,” the ruling concluded.

In a statement to Forbes, a Starbucks spokesperson said, “The allegations in the complaint are inaccurate and without merit. We look forward to defending ourselves against these claims.”

“Class action false advertising lawsuits often, but not always, play an important role in compensating consumers and preventing companies from committing further harm,” Louis Tompros, a lecturer on law at Harvard and a partner at WilmerHale said, as per a report in Harvard Law Today.