Panera Just Settled the First Charged Lemonade Lawsuit. Here’s What Happened

Panera has just settled the first of four Charged Lemonade lawsuits. The casual dining chain was sued after the controversial drink, which has since been discontinued, allegedly contributed to the deaths of two vulnerable customers and the health issues of two others. Let’s take a look at what we know about this latest development.

Panera Charged Lemonade Lawsuit Settlement: What Happened?

NBC News is reporting that the first Panera Charged Lemonade lawsuit, brought by the family of Ivy League student Sarah Katz — who had a heart condition — was settled as of Oct. 7.

In her first interview, Elizabeth Crawford, a partner at the Philadelphia-based legal firm Kline & Specter, PC, representing the plaintiffs in all four lawsuits, told the outlet that “the matter has resolved.” Still, she was not allowed to share any further details, including the terms and amount of the settlement.

The casual dining chain was hit with four lawsuits regarding the beverage, the first of which was filed on behalf of Katz’s parents. Two other lawsuits claimed that the Charged Lemonade caused irreversible cardiac problems in previously healthy people, while the final case blamed it for the death of a man in Florida.

In accordance with her physicians’ advice, 21-year-old Sarah Katz of the University of Pennsylvania avoided energy drinks due to her cardiac issue, long QT syndrome type 1, as per a complaint filed in Philadelphia last year.

The lawsuit states that Katz purchased a Charged Lemonade in September 2022 at a Panera restaurant. A few hours later, according to her roommate and close friend, she suffered a heart attack, which would eventually claim her life.

The casual dining chain had no comment about the settlement as of press time. However, at the time of Katz’s death, a spokesperson for the company said it was “very saddened to learn about the tragic passing of Sarah Katz” and it vowed to “thoroughly investigate this matter.”

Panera Discontinued Charged Lemonade

After learning of Katz’s passing, Panera sent out alerts at the end of October and changed the menu to include the phrase “charged lemonade,” which denotes the drink’s high caffeine content.

Then, in December 2023, another lawsuit was filed on behalf of Dennis Brown, a resident of Fleming Island, Florida. On Oct. 9, 2023, he drank three of the drinks without realizing they were extremely caffeinated. While traveling home, he allegedly suffered a fatal cardiac arrest, according to a lawsuit filed in the Superior Court in Delaware.

Brown, a 46-year-old longtime worker at a grocery store, had a chromosomal deficiency condition, ADHD, and developmental delay. Nevertheless, the complaint states that he continued to live alone and independently and never drank energy drinks because of his high blood pressure.

Following the two deaths, Panera pulled the drink off its menu. The casual dining chain did not say in its May 7 notice whether the pending lawsuits were a factor in its decision to remove the product.

Instead, it stated that it was “listening to customers’ suggestions” and would be adding low-sugar and low-caffeine drinks to its menu. However, it didn’t specify when these new drinks would be available.

When the company initially added Charged Sips to its menus in the spring of 2022, people were quick to voice concerns regarding the product’s caffeine concentration. The amount of caffeine in each serving of Charged Sips ranges from 155 to 302 milligrams. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advises consuming no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine per day, and to put things in perspective, an average 8-ounce cup of coffee has 95 milligrams of caffeine.

Customers at Panera who drank two or more servings of the Charged Sips ran the danger of consuming more caffeine than is advised daily, which might be harmful to those who are sensitive to the stimulant.