Your final ZOA Energy settlement payment depends on four main factors: whether you submitted proof of purchase, how many cans you claimed, how many other people filed claims, and how much gets deducted for attorney fees and administrative costs before the money reaches claimants. At the base rate of $1 per can, claimants without receipts face a $10 cap, while those with proof of purchase can receive up to $150. But those are maximums — the actual check you receive could be significantly less if the volume of approved claims outstrips the available funds after deductions from the $3 million settlement fund. The case, *Mikhail Gershzon v.
ZOA Energy, LLC*, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It alleged that ZOA Energy — the brand co-founded by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in 2021 — misled consumers by labeling its drinks “0 Preservatives” despite containing citric acid and ascorbic acid, both of which can function as preservatives. The $3 million settlement fund was established to compensate eligible purchasers, but the path from that headline number to your actual payout involves several reductions worth understanding.
Table of Contents
- What Determines Your ZOA Energy Settlement Payout Amount?
- How Proof of Purchase Changes Your Maximum Payout
- How Attorney Fees and Costs Shrink the Settlement Fund
- Understanding the Pro Rata Reduction and What It Means for Your Check
- When to Expect Your ZOA Energy Settlement Payment
- Who Was Eligible for This Settlement
- What Happens After Final Approval
- Frequently Asked Questions
What Determines Your ZOA Energy Settlement Payout Amount?
Four variables control the size of your check, and they work in sequence. First, the $3 million fund gets reduced by attorney fees — expected to consume roughly 33% of the total, or about $990,000 — along with administrative costs and class representative service awards. That leaves an estimated $2 million or less for actual claimant payouts. Second, your individual claim amount depends on how many cans you purchased and whether you have receipts. Third, if total approved claims exceed the remaining pool, every payment gets cut proportionally through a pro rata reduction.
Fourth, the timing of any appeals can delay everything by months. To put real numbers on this: say you claimed 10 cans without proof of purchase, giving you a maximum of $10. If the remaining fund after deductions is $1.8 million but approved claims total $2.5 million, every claimant’s payment gets reduced by roughly 28%. Your $10 claim becomes about $7.20. Someone who filed with receipts claiming 150 cans would see their $150 maximum drop to approximately $108. The pro rata calculation is applied once across all claims — there is no tiered system where receipt-holders get priority over those without proof of purchase.
How Proof of Purchase Changes Your Maximum Payout
The single largest variable within your control was whether you submitted receipts with your claim. Claimants without proof of purchase were capped at claiming a maximum of 10 units at $1 each, for a $10 ceiling. Claimants who attached receipts could claim up to 150 units at the same $1 rate, for a $150 ceiling. That is a fifteen-fold difference based solely on documentation.
However, if you filed without receipts and claimed only a few cans, the pro rata reduction may actually hit you less in absolute dollar terms even though the percentage cut is the same. Someone claiming $5 with a 30% reduction loses $1.50, which may feel negligible. Someone claiming $150 loses $45 under the same math. It is also worth noting that the claim deadline was February 20, 2026, and has already passed, so there is no opportunity to amend a claim or add receipts at this point. If you filed without proof of purchase, your cap is locked at $10 regardless of how many cans you actually bought.
How Attorney Fees and Costs Shrink the Settlement Fund
Attorney fees in class action settlements routinely consume between 25% and 33% of the total fund, and this case falls at the high end of that range. With approximately 33% earmarked for legal fees, roughly $990,000 comes off the top of the $3 million. Administrative costs — paying the claims administrator, running the settlement website at zoasettlement.com, processing claims, mailing notices — further reduce the pool. Service awards to the class representative, Mikhail Gershzon, also come out before distribution. These deductions are standard in class action litigation, but they have a real effect on individual payouts.
If fees, costs, and service awards total $1.2 million combined, only $1.8 million remains for claimants. For a settlement of this size involving a widely purchased consumer product, that remaining pool can get stretched thin quickly. The final approval hearing on March 26, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. PT in Courtroom 11 at 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, is where the court will approve or adjust these deductions. Objections to the fee request could theoretically result in a lower attorney fee award, which would leave more money for claimants, though such reductions are uncommon.
Understanding the Pro Rata Reduction and What It Means for Your Check
The settlement agreement includes a straightforward pro rata mechanism. After attorney fees, administrative costs, and service awards are deducted, the remaining fund is compared against the total dollar value of all approved claims. If claims exceed available funds, every payment is reduced by the same percentage. There is no lottery, no first-come-first-served priority, and no secondary round of payments. Consider two scenarios. In the first, approved claims total $1.5 million against a remaining pool of $1.8 million.
Everyone gets paid in full — the math works out without any reduction. In the second, approved claims total $3 million against the same $1.8 million pool. Every claimant receives 60 cents on the dollar. A $10 claim becomes $6, and a $150 claim becomes $90. The tradeoff here is that wider awareness of the settlement, while good for consumer rights broadly, directly reduces individual payouts. Settlements involving well-known brands — and ZOA Energy’s connection to Dwayne Johnson generated significant media coverage — tend to attract high claim volumes, making pro rata reductions more likely.
When to Expect Your ZOA Energy Settlement Payment
The timeline for receiving your check hinges on what happens at and after the final approval hearing on March 26, 2026. If the court grants final approval and no one appeals, payments are estimated to go out within 90 days — putting the earliest likely payout around July 2026. If someone files an appeal, the entire distribution process freezes until the appeal is resolved, which typically takes at least six months and can stretch much longer.
One important limitation: even after final approval, the claims administrator needs time to calculate pro rata adjustments, cut checks, and process mailings. The 90-day estimate is a target, not a guarantee. If your mailing address changed since you filed your claim, contact the claims administratorclaims administrator[contact via the official settlement website] to update your information. A returned check can add weeks or months to your individual timeline, and unclaimed funds may eventually be redistributed or directed to a cy pres recipient rather than held indefinitely.
Who Was Eligible for This Settlement
Eligibility covered U.S. residents who purchased any ZOA Energy drink labeled “0 Preservatives” for personal consumption — not for resale — between March 1, 2021 and November 21, 2025.
This included all flavor varieties and package sizes sold during that window, so long as the can carried the disputed labeling. Retailers, distributors, and anyone who purchased ZOA products for commercial resale were excluded. Both the claim deadline of February 20, 2026, and the opt-out and objection deadline of February 13, 2026, have now passed, so no new claims or exclusion requests can be submitted.
What Happens After Final Approval
The March 26, 2026 hearing will determine whether the settlement receives final judicial approval. Assuming it does, the focus shifts entirely to distribution logistics.
The claims administrator will finalize the pro rata calculation, and claimants should monitor their mailboxes in the summer of 2026 for payment. For those who want updates, the official settlement website at zoasettlement.com and the toll-freetoll-free[contact via the official settlement website] remain the most reliable sources of information. This case also fits into a broader pattern of food and beverage labeling lawsuits that have become increasingly common — consumers and plaintiffs’ attorneys are scrutinizing ingredient lists and marketing claims more aggressively than ever, and settlements like this one signal that courts take these allegations seriously even when the amounts per claimant are modest.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will I actually receive from the ZOA Energy settlement?
The base rate is $1 per can claimed. Without proof of purchase, you can receive a maximum of $10. With receipts, the maximum is $150. Both amounts may be reduced proportionally if total approved claims exceed the available fund after deductions.
Can I still file a claim for the ZOA Energy settlement?
No. The claim deadline was February 20, 2026, and has passed. No new claims are being accepted.
When will ZOA Energy settlement checks be mailed?
If the court grants final approval on March 26, 2026, and no appeals are filed, payments are estimated to arrive within 90 days — approximately July 2026. Appeals could delay payment by six months or more.
Why is my payment less than the maximum amount?
Attorney fees (approximately 33% of the $3 million fund), administrative costs, and service awards are deducted before distribution. If remaining claims exceed the reduced fund, all payments are cut by the same percentage through a pro rata adjustment.
What if I moved after filing my claim?
Contact the claims administratorclaims administrator[contact via the official settlement website] to update your mailing address before checks are distributed.
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