Red Bull Settlement Probably Won’t Get You $10 — Here’s Why!

Since news of a $13 million Red Bull settlement started spreading across the internet yesterday, there have been a few additions to Buzzfeed’s original story. The site’s original article failed to point out that the terms of the settlement placed a cap on the total payout — meaning you’ll probably be banking a lot less than $10, or even $15, in free Red Bull.

What Red Bull actually promised was a $13 million dollar settlement in total — one that would yield $10 per applicant until that number hit 1.3 million. After that, partakers of Red Bull’s settlement will start seeing rapidly diminishing returns. Although Red Bull has not yet released numbers, settlement participants shouldn’t expect to walk away with more than a few dollars, according to an editorial in Time by Jacob Davidson.

“We don’t know for sure, yet, but Buzzfeed’s post alone has already been viewed more than 4.6 million times, and the settlement website was slammed with so much traffic yesterday that it crashed. Even if we assume that only people who read that specific article asked for a piece of the pie, and ignore the legions of other outlets who reported the news, we’re still down to a new settlement value of slightly under $3 a person — or about the retail price of a 12-ounce can of [Red Bull].”

Red Bull’s advertisements has had the slogan “It gives you wiiings” since the energy drink’s early days, but its promise to make you more alert, even metaphorically, was argued against for the plaintiffs who received the settlement. Red Bull was not impressed. Despite coming to a settlement, the company is being penitent in public about outcome, explicitly stating that they reject the plaintiff’s argument.

“Red Bull settled the lawsuit to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation. However, Red Bull maintains that its marketing and labeling have always been truthful and accurate, and denies any and all wrongdoing or liability.”

Also unclear in the original article was another note that the reported settlement has only been agreed on by the company — the Red Bull settlement hasn’t even made its way through the courts yet. The status of the Red Bull settlement won’t be determined until May 1, 2015, and, even then, according to attorney August T. Horvath, the plaintiffs carry a heavy burden of proof.

“As with any class action, there’s a lot to prove before you can get to the end.”

As Davidson noted, the website where participants filed to be a part of the Red Bull settlement started crashing soon after the story first began to circulate. As of the publication of this article, it is still inaccessible. If you could still use a few dollars (or perhaps even quarters) from the Red Bull settlement, you can still apply by e-mail at energydrinksettlement@gcginc.com or by telephone at 844-553-1373.

[Image via Flickr]