Coca

ADVERTISEMENT

The announcement comes as Starbucks plans to roll out a new product for the next generation of coffee and the retailer announced Wednesday it would begin shipping a new range of products to retail stores.

The announcement comes after former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced in July he would have eliminated the name "America's Cup," a reference to its place at the national championships of his company. The branding was later changed to reflect that it is all coffee.

Schultz said he hoped to give the Cup brand an appropriate name that was distinctive, though he said it should reflect his history of taking on competition, including the U.S. Conference of Brewing Chambers of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce, which represents nearly 3,000 retailers.

According to court documents, the group's legal counsel, James Stranahan, testified that Starbucks was interested in the name and said it was not based in any way on that.

"In its efforts to protect its reputation in the international beer world, Starbucks has repeatedly misrepresented their identity," Stranahan wrote Thursday in a court filing. "As a company that operates an internationally-recognized chain, Starbucks has a zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment in our workplaces."

"As a company that operates an internationally-recognized chain, Starbucks has a zero tolerance for discrimination and harassment in our workplaces," the document states.

The filing does not deny the complaint against Starbucks, which it has filed for violation of antitrust law, because it is based on "clear and convincing" material that it failed to file under the law, such as testimony in support of an order to dismiss another potential antitrust case against it.

It does not list Starbucks. "We will continue to monitor and review this matter for possible remedies that may or may not come in the future, including if any of the issues we discuss could be settled," according to the filing.

Schultz declined to answer questions about his original complaint to the Federal Trade Commission, which was created in 2012, and the SEC, which he heads. In June, the firm filed suit against a group of U.S. retailers accusing them of using similar tactics in its marketing for Starbucks products.

"These accusations have been baseless and unfairly alleged by numerous organizations including the FTC and the FTC, including this newspaper and the New York Times, and have been treated as baseless by its attorneys," wrote Schulz in a statement. "As we are conducting an investigation, we are also conducting thorough interviews with all of those affected."

ADVERTISEMENT

The filing details a two-year period of alleged retaliation against Starbucks including accusations of unfair treatment of coffee farmers and consumers. Schultz admitted to taking a $13 million break from its operations, paid to settle complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, and took a similar position within the company after a dispute with the federal agency.