There's not a latte of milk here, claims Starbucks lawsuit over 'under-filled' drinks

Starbucks has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly cheating customers out of their full caffeine fix by under-filling lattes.

A judge in San Fransisco has given the green light for two angry customers to pursue a national class action lawsuit seeking damages from the coffee chain.

They claim that Starbucks has been systematically handing out lattes that are 25% underfilled as a result of changes in 2009 to save money on milk.

Since then, baristas have been instructed to use undersized milk measures that leave a quarter of an inch empty in each cup, the papers claim.

Judge Thelton Henderson said that the case should go ahead as it was "probable" that many customers ordering a hot drink expected it to contain the exact number of fluid ounces advertised on the cup size.

A Starbucks spokesman said the case is without merit, adding if a customer is not satisfied with their drink "we will gladly remake it."

It's not the first time that the coffee chain has faced what some might describe as frivolous lawsuits.

In April, Starbucks was sued for cheating customers out of coffee by adding too much ice to its frozen drinks.

The suit claims that customers pay the same amount as for unfrozen drinks - but ultimately get up for 50% less coffee.

In that case, Starbucks argued that ice is an essential component in iced drinks, meaning the case was without merit, according to TMZ.