ZOA Class Action Lawsuit
A lawsuit said ZOA energy drinks marketed as having "0 Preservatives" contained citric acid, which the plaintiff says is a preservative.
What happens next with the ZOA settlement
The claim deadline passed on February 19, 2026. New claims for this settlement are no longer being accepted.
Payments come after approval, and after any appeals. Anyone who objected to the settlement can ask a higher court to look at it again — an appeal — and that has to finish first. Eligible payments are sent once approval is final, and the stretch from a claim deadline to money in hand often runs a year or more. It varies from one settlement to the next.
Filed this claim with Chimo? The status of your claim is on the claims page in your account.
Settlements you can still claim in November 2026
Visa & Mastercard
$380
Neutrogena (Illinois Only)
$731
Generic Drug Makers (State AGs)
$59
ZOA Class Action Lawsuit
Mikhail Gershzon sued ZOA Energy, LLC in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in October 2023, saying that cans marketed as having “0 Preservatives” contain citric acid and ascorbic acid—ingredients the plaintiff claims function as preservatives, making the label misleading. ZOA denies the allegations, and the court did not decide who was right.
The complaint asserts breach of warranty, violations of California's Unfair Competition Law, False Advertising Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act, and restitution on a quasi-contract or unjust enrichment theory. The court preliminarily approved the settlement on November 21, 2025, and appointed Michael D. Braun of Kuzyk Law, LLP and Peter N. Wasylyk as class counsel.
ZOA Class Action Settlement - $3,000,000
The $3 million figure wasn’t picked from a public “per-can damages” formula—it’s described as the result of arm’s-length negotiations meant to avoid the cost and uncertainty of continuing the case. The amended settlement papers say the parties held extensive discussions and a mediation overseen by retired federal judge Dickran Tevrizian, and that they renegotiated after a June 25, 2025, order denying preliminary approval of an earlier deal—specifically to address concerns raised by the court and additional issues raised by some state attorneys general.
The court preliminarily approved the renegotiated settlement on November 21, 2025, finding it the result of serious, informed, non-collusive, arm's-length negotiations, and appointed Kroll as the claims administrator. The class covers everyone in the U.S. who, from March 1, 2021, bought one or more ZOA products labeled “0 Preservatives” for personal or household use, not for resale.
The claim deadline was February 20, 2026. New claims can no longer be filed. A final approval hearing was scheduled for March 26, 2026, where the court was also to decide class counsel's fees and the service award.
Claims closed: February 19, 2026
Energy Drinks Class Action Payout: $1 per can, up to $150 per household
The settlement offered eligible claimants $1 per can of eligible ZOA products claimed, with the total capped by proof level. With proof of purchase for every can, a household's claim was capped at $150 (150 cans), at a minimum of $1 per can. Without receipts, it was $1 per can, capped at $10 (10 cans) per household.
Claims with proof that did not cover every can claimed could be reduced in quantity or value, and the administrator would not ask for more proof. Every claim was signed under penalty of perjury and subject to audit and verification.
The money comes from a $3,000,000 settlement fund, which also covers items like notice and administration, service awards, and attorneys’ fees and costs—so claim payments are made from what remains after those deductions.
If the total value of approved claims exceeds the net funds available, payments can be reduced pro rata, meaning every eligible claim is reduced proportionally. Payments are made to eligible claimants after final approval; a final approval hearing was scheduled for March 26, 2026.
Energy Drinks Class Action Eligibility
Eligibility is narrowly tied to the exact label claim and time window at issue in Gershzon v. ZOA Energy, LLC: you were generally in the settlement class if (1) you purchased any ZOA Energy drink that displayed “0 Preservatives” on the label, (2) you bought it in the United States, (3) it was for personal use (not resale or distribution), and (4) the purchase happened between March 1, 2021, and November 21, 2025.
The case turns on the fact that the alleged deception isn’t about caffeine levels or performance claims—it’s about a binary statement (“0 Preservatives”) that the plaintiff says would matter to a reasonable consumer because the products contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, which were alleged to function as chemical preservatives.
That framing is why the class definition is label-specific (it doesn’t sweep in every ZOA product or every can).
For claims, the settlement differentiates between receipt and no receipt: with proof, the settlement offered eligible claimants a minimum of $1 per unit up to $150 per household; without proof, it offered $1 per unit up to $10 per household (based on units the claimant swore they purchased). The claim form allowed one claim per household and was signed under penalty of perjury.
FAQ
No. Exact dates weren’t needed. As long as the purchases reasonably fell within the settlement period and involved cans labeled “0 Preservatives,” a claim could still be submitted.
That was fine. Eligible purchases included ZOA bought anywhere in the U.S.—online or in-store—so long as the can displayed the “0 Preservatives” claim.
The claim form asks how many cans a household bought and sets $1 per can, up to 10 cans without proof of purchase and up to 150 cans with it, so the amount an eligible household could claim follows how much it bought.
No. The claim form allowed only one claim per household, and the claimant swore that no other claim had been or would be submitted for the same purchases.
Claims without receipts were capped at 10 cans. Claims with proof could be reduced if the proof did not cover every can claimed, and every claim was subject to audit, verification and court review.
Yes, whether or not they filed. Every class member who did not opt out by February 13, 2026, is bound by the settlement's release of claims about the “0 Preservatives” labeling once the court gives final approval.
The settlement documents do not give a reason. The claim form caps a claim without proof of purchase at 10 cans ($10) per household, against 150 cans ($150) with proof, and every claim is signed under penalty of perjury and subject to audit.
No. Claimants didn’t need to explain their motivations—only to confirm that they purchased the eligible product during the class period.
If approved claims exceed available funds, payments are reduced proportionally, meaning every eligible claim is cut by the same percentage rather than some claims going unpaid.
No. ZOA denies the allegations. The settlement resolves the dispute without a court ruling on whether the labeling was unlawful.
Sources
These are the court's own records for this case. They are hosted here unchanged, so you can check anything on this page against the documents themselves.
- Class Action Complaint (PDF) Complaint · Filed October 23, 2023 · United States District Court for the Northern District of California · Case 3:23-cv-5444-JD
- Order re Preliminary Approval of Class Action Settlement (PDF) Court order · Filed November 21, 2025 · United States District Court for the Northern District of California · Case 3:23-cv-5444-JD
The full case file is on the court docket: view the docket.