Yes, you can claim cash from the ZOA Energy “0 Preservatives” class action settlement without proof of purchase. Under the terms of the $3 million settlement in *Mikhail Gershzon v. ZOA Energy, LLC*, claimants who do not have receipts can still receive $1 per can purchased, up to a maximum of $10 per household, simply by submitting a Claim Form signed under penalty of perjury. So if you bought a few cans of ZOA Energy over the past several years and tossed the receipts like most people do, you were still eligible to file a claim and collect up to ten dollars without digging through old bank statements.
However, there is a significant catch for anyone reading this now. The claims deadline was February 20, 2026, and that date has already passed. The Final Approval Hearing is scheduled for March 26, 2026, meaning the settlement has not yet been finalized, but the window to submit new claims is closed. This article will break down the full details of the settlement, explain how the proof-of-purchase tiers worked, what the underlying lawsuit was about, and what happens next as the court moves toward final approval.
Table of Contents
- How Could You Claim Cash From the ZOA Energy Preservative Free Settlement Without Proof of Purchase?
- What Was the ZOA Energy “0 Preservatives” Lawsuit Actually About?
- Who Was Eligible for the ZOA Energy Settlement and What Were the Requirements?
- Filing With Receipts Versus Filing Without — What Was the Practical Difference?
- The Claims Deadline Has Passed — What Happens Now?
- How Penalty of Perjury Works in No-Proof Settlement Claims
- What This Settlement Signals for Future Energy Drink Labeling Cases
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Could You Claim Cash From the ZOA Energy Preservative Free Settlement Without Proof of Purchase?
The settlement created a two-tier payment structure specifically designed to let consumers participate even without documentation. Claimants without receipts needed only to fill out the official Claim Form at www.zoasettlement.com or mail it to the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, at P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391. The form required a signature under penalty of perjury, meaning you were legally attesting that you did, in fact, purchase ZOA Energy drinks labeled “0 Preservatives” during the eligible period. No receipt, no screenshot of an online order, no credit card statement required.
By comparison, claimants who could produce actual proof of purchase stood to receive significantly more. With receipts, eligible consumers could claim $1 per can up to $150 per household, which is fifteen times the cap for those filing without documentation. That gap illustrates a common pattern in consumer class action settlements: the system rewards people who keep records, but it does not shut out those who do not. For someone who casually bought a few ZOA cans at a gas station over the years, the $10 no-proof claim was a straightforward, low-effort payout. For someone who regularly stocked up and happened to save receipts, the $150 ceiling represented a much more substantial recovery.
What Was the ZOA Energy “0 Preservatives” Lawsuit Actually About?
The core allegation was straightforward. ZOA Energy marketed its drinks with a “0 Preservatives” label, but the lawsuit claimed that the beverages contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, both of which can function as preservatives. Citric acid is widely used in the food industry to extend shelf life and prevent bacterial growth. Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C, also has well-documented preservative properties. The plaintiff, Mikhail Gershzon, argued that labeling these drinks as preservative-free was misleading to consumers who relied on that claim when making purchasing decisions.
ZOA Energy would likely counter that citric acid and ascorbic acid serve other purposes in their drinks, such as flavoring and nutritional supplementation, and that their inclusion does not automatically make them “preservatives” in the regulatory sense. This is a gray area in food labeling law. However, the company agreed to a $3 million settlement rather than take the case to trial. It is worth noting that agreeing to settle does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing. If you purchased ZOA Energy specifically because of the preservative-free claim and later felt misled, this settlement was the mechanism for compensation. If you never noticed or cared about the label, you were still technically eligible as long as you bought the product during the covered period.
Who Was Eligible for the ZOA Energy Settlement and What Were the Requirements?
Eligibility covered a broad swath of consumers. Any U.S. resident who purchased any ZOA Energy drink labeled “0 Preservatives” for personal consumption between March 1, 2021 and November 21, 2025 qualified. The key restriction was that the purchase had to be for personal use, not for resale. So if you run a convenience store and bought ZOA in bulk to stock your shelves, you would not be eligible.
But if you grabbed a can before a workout or picked up a pack at Costco for your household, you were covered. The eligible purchase window spanning over four and a half years is notable because it means even infrequent buyers had a chance to participate. Consider someone who tried ZOA once in 2022 after seeing Dwayne Johnson promote it and never bought it again. That single purchase still made them eligible for a $1 claim without proof. On the other end, a household that regularly consumed ZOA throughout the entire period and kept receipts could potentially recover the full $150.
Filing With Receipts Versus Filing Without — What Was the Practical Difference?
The tradeoff between filing with and without proof of purchase came down to effort versus payout. Filing without receipts was fast and simple. You filled out the form, attested under penalty of perjury that you bought the product, and stood to receive up to $10. The practical reality is that most consumers do not save grocery receipts for years, so the no-proof option existed to ensure the settlement actually reached the people it was designed to compensate. Filing with proof required more work but offered a dramatically higher ceiling.
At $1 per can with a $150 maximum, you would need to document the purchase of 150 or more cans to hit the cap. That means producing receipts showing individual ZOA Energy purchases over the 2021 to 2025 period. Some consumers may have been able to pull transaction histories from store loyalty programs, credit card statements, or online grocery delivery accounts like Instacart or Amazon Fresh. Whether that level of effort was worth it depended entirely on how much ZOA you actually bought. For a casual consumer, spending an hour hunting down old receipts for an extra $20 may not have been worthwhile. For a household that went through a case a month, the math looked very different.
The Claims Deadline Has Passed — What Happens Now?
The most important limitation for anyone reading this article today is that the February 20, 2026 claims deadline has already expired. If you did not submit a Claim Form by 11:59 p.m. PT on that date, either online or postmarked by mail, you are almost certainly out of luck. Class action settlement deadlines are strictly enforced, and late claims are typically rejected by the settlement administrator without exception. Courts rarely grant extensions to individual claimants absent extraordinary circumstances. The opt-out deadline was even earlier, on February 13, 2026, meaning consumers who wanted to preserve their right to sue ZOA Energy independently also had to act before that date.
If you neither filed a claim nor opted out, you are bound by the settlement terms once the court grants final approval, and you receive nothing. This is a common frustration with class action settlements. The notice period is finite, and if you miss it, the opportunity is gone. The Final Approval Hearing is set for March 26, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. PT. Once the court approves the settlement, Kroll Settlement Administration will begin processing and distributing payments to those who filed valid claims.
How Penalty of Perjury Works in No-Proof Settlement Claims
Signing a claim form under penalty of perjury is not a mere formality. It means you are making a legal declaration that your statements are true, and knowingly filing a false claim is a criminal offense. Settlement administrators and courts do monitor for fraudulent claims, particularly patterns like multiple claims from the same address or claims from individuals who could not plausibly have purchased the product.
In practice, enforcement against individual fraudulent small-dollar claims is rare, but it is not unheard of in larger settlements where fraud is widespread. The penalty of perjury requirement exists as both a legal safeguard and a deterrent. If you genuinely purchased ZOA Energy during the eligible period, you had nothing to worry about when signing the form.
What This Settlement Signals for Future Energy Drink Labeling Cases
The ZOA Energy settlement fits into a growing trend of class action lawsuits targeting health and wellness claims on food and beverage products. Labeling disputes over terms like “natural,” “no artificial ingredients,” and “preservative-free” have become increasingly common as consumers pay closer attention to what they consume and lawyers recognize the gap between marketing language and technical ingredient reality.
The fact that ZOA agreed to a $3 million settlement suggests that companies marketing energy drinks and similar products will need to be more precise in their labeling going forward. For consumers, this case is a reminder to look beyond front-of-package claims and check the actual ingredient list. For the broader class action landscape, it reinforces that food labeling cases remain fertile ground for consumer litigation, and that settlements in these cases routinely allow claims without proof of purchase to maximize participation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still file a claim for the ZOA Energy settlement?
No. The claims deadline was February 20, 2026, and it has already passed. Late claims are not accepted.
How much could I get without a receipt?
Claimants without proof of purchase could receive $1 per can, up to a maximum of $10 per household.
How much could I get with receipts?
Claimants with proof of purchase could receive $1 per can, up to a maximum of $150 per household.
When will payments be sent out?
Payments will be processed after the Final Approval Hearing on March 26, 2026, assuming the court approves the settlement. The exact distribution timeline depends on the settlement administrator.
What ZOA products were covered?
Any ZOA Energy drink labeled “0 Preservatives” purchased for personal consumption between March 1, 2021 and November 21, 2025.
Why was the lawsuit filed if citric acid and ascorbic acid are common ingredients?
The lawsuit alleged that because citric acid and ascorbic acid can function as preservatives, labeling the drinks “0 Preservatives” was misleading regardless of the ingredients’ other purposes in the formula.