TRENTON -- New Jersey's highest court this week waded into a dispute over drink prices.

The state Supreme Court heard arguments in two lawsuits accusing chain restaurant locations in New Jersey of violating consumer protection laws by not listing beer, cocktail and soft drink prices on their menus.

The New Jersey Law Journal reports lawyers for the plaintiffs argued the chains engaged in "price gouging."

In one case, a patron at a Mount Laurel TGI Friday's location, Debra Dugan, claimed she was charged $2 for a beer at the restaurant's bar before she was seated and $3.59 for a second beer at her table.

In the other, patron Ernest Bozzi claimed he was charged two different prices for beers at a Carrabba's Italian Grill in Maple Shade without any notice of a happy hour.

The court is weighing whether failing to list prices is grounds for a class-action lawsuit under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act and the Truth in Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.

An attorney for the plaintiff in the TGI Friday's case told the justices the company had done an internal study that found patrons spent $1.72 less per visit when drink prices were in writing, the Law Journal reported.

An attorney for the chain said there was no evidence the company had changed policies based on the study and it wasn't even clear the plaintiff had looked at a menu.

S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.