Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has dropped an administrative case involving allegations that Starbucks improperly used race-based hiring practices — but indicated he will pursue the issue in state or federal court.

Administrative Law Judge Robert Telfer on Monday issued an order closing a case that former Attorney General Ashley Moody filed last year.

Telfer’s order came after Uthmeier’s office on Nov. 26 said it was dismissing the administrative case.

Moody, who is now a U.S. senator, in May 2024 filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Human Relations alleging that Starbucks had policies that “appear on their face to be racial quotas.”

But after an investigation, the commission’s executive director in November 2024 issued a determination that there was “no reasonable

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