Yes, the ZOA Energy “0 Preservatives” class action settlement is legitimate. It is a court-authorized settlement in the case Gershzon v. ZOA Energy, LLC, Case No. 3:23-cv-5444-JD, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The official settlement website at ZOASettlement.com is controlled by Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, a court-approved claims administrator. However, if you are just learning about this settlement now, there is a critical detail you need to know: the claims filing deadline of February 20, 2026 has already passed, meaning new claims can no longer be submitted. The settlement stems from allegations that ZOA Energy, the brand co-founded by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, misleadingly labeled its drinks as having “0 Preservatives” when they actually contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, both of which can function as preservatives. ZOA Energy agreed to a $3 million settlement fund to resolve the dispute. Eligible claimants who filed before the deadline could receive up to $150 per household with proof of purchase or up to $10 without receipts.
Table of Contents
- Is the ZOA Energy Preservative-Free Settlement Legitimate, and Who Was Eligible to File?
- What Did the Lawsuit Actually Allege About ZOA Energy’s Labels?
- How Much Money Could Claimants Actually Receive from the ZOA Settlement?
- How to Verify Your Claim Status and What Happens After the Deadline
- Common Issues That Could Affect Your ZOA Settlement Payment
- What the ZOA Settlement Means for Future Energy Drink Labeling
- What to Watch for After the March 2026 Final Approval Hearing
- Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ZOA Energy Preservative-Free Settlement Legitimate, and Who Was Eligible to File?
The settlement is unquestionably real. Unlike the flood of social media scams that promise free money for clicking a link, this case has a verifiable court docket number, a named federal judge overseeing proceedings, and a claims administrator with a publicly listed phone number at (833) 890-6436. You can confirm the case exists by searching for Case No. 3:23-cv-5444-JD through the federal court’s PACER system. The preliminary approval was granted by the court, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for March 26, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. PT in Courtroom 11 at the San Francisco Courthouse. Eligibility was straightforward: any U.S.
Resident who purchased a zoa Energy drink labeled “0 Preservatives” for personal consumption, not for resale, between March 1, 2021 and November 21, 2025. That covers roughly four and a half years of purchases. If you bought even a single can of ZOA during that window and it carried the “0 Preservatives” claim on its label, you met the class definition. Compare that to some settlements that require proof of injury or specific financial harm — this one simply required that you bought the product during the class period. One important distinction: eligibility to be part of the class and eligibility to receive a payment are two different things. Being a class member meant the settlement’s terms applied to you, including the release of future claims against ZOA over this labeling issue. But to actually receive money, you needed to have filed a valid claim by February 20, 2026. If you did not file by that date, you are still bound by the settlement terms if you did not opt out by February 13, 2026, but you will not receive any payment.
What Did the Lawsuit Actually Allege About ZOA Energy’s Labels?
The core allegation in Gershzon v. ZOA Energy was that the company’s “0 preservatives” marketing claim was misleading. The plaintiff argued that ZOA Energy drinks contain citric acid and ascorbic acid, two ingredients that are widely recognized in the food science community as having preservative properties. Citric acid inhibits bacterial growth and is used across the food industry as a preservative in everything from canned goods to beverages. Ascorbic acid, commonly known as vitamin C, also acts as an antioxidant preservative that prevents spoilage. ZOA Energy did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
This is standard in class action cases — the company agrees to pay to resolve the claims without conceding that its labeling was actually false or deceptive. However, the fact that ZOA agreed to a $3 million fund suggests the company assessed the litigation risk and decided settlement was preferable to trial. For consumers, the practical takeaway is that ingredient labels can be technically accurate in listing individual components while still carrying marketing claims that paint a misleading picture of what those ingredients do. It is worth noting a limitation here: even if you personally never paid attention to or cared about the “0 Preservatives” label, you were still part of the class as long as you purchased the product during the eligible period. The lawsuit did not require individual proof that you relied on or were deceived by the labeling. That said, if you actively opted out before the February 13, 2026 deadline, you preserved your right to sue ZOA independently over the same issue, though pursuing individual litigation over a few dollars in energy drinks would rarely make financial sense.
How Much Money Could Claimants Actually Receive from the ZOA Settlement?
The $3 million settlement fund sounds significant, but it is important to understand how that money gets divided. The fund covers not just claim payments but also attorney fees, administrative costs for running the settlement website and processing claims, and service awards for the class representative who brought the case. After those deductions, the remaining amount gets distributed among all valid claimants. The payout structure broke down into two tiers. If you submitted a claim with proof of purchase such as a receipt, you could receive $1 per can purchased, up to a maximum of $150 per household. Without proof of purchase, you could still claim $1 per can but were capped at $10 per household.
To put that in concrete terms, if you had a receipt showing you bought a 12-pack of ZOA every month for a year, that is 144 cans and $144 in potential compensation. But if you tossed your receipts like most people do, you were looking at a maximum of $10 regardless of how much ZOA you actually consumed. This kind of tiered structure is common in consumer product settlements. It rewards claimants who kept documentation while still allowing casual purchasers to participate. The tradeoff is real though — the vast majority of people do not save grocery receipts, which means most claimants likely filed without proof and fell into the $10 cap. If you were someone who bought ZOA in bulk from a warehouse store and kept the receipt, you were in a significantly better position than the average filer.
How to Verify Your Claim Status and What Happens After the Deadline
Since the claims deadline has passed, the practical question for many people now is whether their claim was properly received and what happens next. If you filed a claim through ZOASettlement.com before February 20, 2026, you should have received a confirmation email or confirmation number. If you mailed your claim form to the address at P.O. Box 225391, New York, NY 10150-5391, it needed to be postmarked by that date. To check on the status of an existing claim, your best option is to contact Kroll Settlement Administration LLC directly at (833) 890-6436. The settlement website at ZOASettlement.com may also have status updates as the case progresses.
Keep any confirmation numbers, emails, or postal receipts you received when you filed. These are your proof that your claim was submitted on time if any dispute arises. The next major milestone is the final approval hearing on March 26, 2026. At that hearing, the judge will review the settlement terms, consider any objections from class members, and decide whether to grant final approval. If approved, payments would then be processed and distributed, though the exact timeline for receiving checks or electronic payments can vary. In some settlements, it takes several months after final approval for payments to actually arrive. If the judge does not approve the settlement or requires modifications, the timeline could extend further.
Common Issues That Could Affect Your ZOA Settlement Payment
Even if you filed a claim on time, there are several reasons your claim could be denied or your payment reduced. Duplicate claims from the same household are one common issue — the settlement explicitly caps payments per household, not per individual. If multiple people at your address each filed separate claims, they may be consolidated or some may be rejected. The claims administrator cross-references addresses to prevent this kind of double-dipping. Another issue is proof of purchase disputes. If you submitted receipts, the administrator will verify that they show ZOA Energy purchases within the eligible date range.
Receipts from before March 1, 2021 or after November 21, 2025 would not count. Illegible receipts, or receipts that do not clearly identify the product as a ZOA Energy drink, could also be problematic. Additionally, if the total number of valid claims exceeds what the fund can cover at the stated per-can rate, payments may be reduced proportionally — a process known as pro rata distribution. One warning worth noting: be cautious of any emails, texts, or social media posts claiming to offer a way to still file a ZOA settlement claim after the deadline. The official deadline was February 20, 2026, and no legitimate third party can extend that. Any service asking for your personal information or payment to “help” you file a late claim is almost certainly a scam. Always verify through the official settlement website or by calling the claims administrator directly.
What the ZOA Settlement Means for Future Energy Drink Labeling
This settlement joins a growing pattern of litigation targeting health and wellness claims on food and beverage packaging. The broader issue at stake — whether ingredients that serve preservative functions can coexist with a “0 Preservatives” marketing claim — has implications beyond ZOA. Other energy drink and supplement brands that use citric acid or ascorbic acid while advertising preservative-free formulas could face similar scrutiny.
For example, if a competitor brand uses the same ingredients and makes the same “no preservatives” claim, this settlement could embolden plaintiffs’ attorneys to pursue parallel cases. For consumers, the lesson is that marketing claims on product labels do not always mean what they appear to mean at first glance. “0 Preservatives” may technically refer to the absence of certain traditional preservatives like sodium benzoate, while the product still contains other ingredients that have preservative effects. Reading the full ingredient list, rather than relying on front-of-label marketing, remains the most reliable way to know what you are actually consuming.
What to Watch for After the March 2026 Final Approval Hearing
The March 26, 2026 hearing will determine whether this settlement moves forward as structured or requires changes. If the judge grants final approval, the claims administrator will begin processing payments, and claimants should expect to receive their compensation within a few months. Check ZOASettlement.com periodically for updates on the distribution timeline.
If the settlement is not approved, the case could go back to litigation or the parties could negotiate revised terms, which would further delay any payments. Looking ahead, settlements like this one are likely to become more common as consumers and plaintiffs’ attorneys grow increasingly skeptical of “clean label” marketing claims. The FDA has not established strict regulatory definitions for many of these terms, leaving the door open for litigation to fill the gap. Whether you filed a claim in this case or missed the deadline, staying informed about class action settlements that affect products you actually buy is a straightforward way to hold companies accountable and recover money when their marketing crosses the line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the ZOA Energy settlement a scam?
No. It is a court-authorized settlement in Gershzon v. ZOA Energy, LLC, Case No. 3:23-cv-5444-JD, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The claims administrator is Kroll Settlement Administration LLC, a well-known firm that handles major class action settlements.
Can I still file a claim for the ZOA settlement?
No. The claims filing deadline was February 20, 2026, and it has already passed. New claims are no longer being accepted.
How much money will I get from the ZOA settlement?
If you filed with proof of purchase, you could receive $1 per can up to $150 per household. Without proof of purchase, the cap is $10 per household. Final amounts may be adjusted depending on how many valid claims were filed.
When will ZOA settlement payments be sent out?
The final approval hearing is scheduled for March 26, 2026. If approved, payments would follow within a few months, though exact timelines depend on the claims administrator’s processing schedule.
What if I bought ZOA but did not file a claim?
If you did not file a claim by the deadline and did not opt out by February 13, 2026, you will not receive any payment and you have released your right to sue ZOA over the “0 Preservatives” labeling issue.
How do I check the status of my ZOA settlement claim?
Contact the claims administrator at (833) 890-6436 or visit the official settlement website at ZOASettlement.com for updates.