NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) – A New York federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Starbucks that alleged the chain exposed customers to toxic pesticides at its Manhattan locations.
Judge Alison Nathan made the ruling Nov. 19, telling plaintiffs lawyers that they failed to allege Starbucks engaged in deceptive practices or false advertising.
Those lawyers claimed flies, cockroaches and other insects infested many New York locations, and the stores used the Hot Shot No-Pest 2 Strip to combat the issue.
The strip emits a pesticide known as DDVP that aren’t to be used in food service establishments. Using such a dangerous pesticide while branding itself as a “premium” coffee chain was misleading to customers, the lawsuit alleged.
“A claim that a seller’s wares are ‘premium’ or ‘the best’ cannot support a cause of action for deceptive practices, whether made in a single advertisement or a hundred,” Judge Nathan wrote.
The plaintiffs lawyers were Douglas H. Wigdor, David E. Gottlieb and Renan F. Varghese of Wigdor LLP in New York.