The Incredible Shrinking Red Bull Refund: How Should Courts Verify Class Membership?

A recent class action settlement has brought fresh attention to two age-old questions. The first: does Red Bull actually give you wings? The second: how carefully should courts screen out bogus claimants from proposed classes of refund-seeking consumers?

Earlier this month, a federal court in Manhattan conditionally approved a settlement in two related class actions brought against Red Bull North America and Red Bull GmbH, makers of the eponymous–and ubiquitous–energy drink. The class actions allege that Red Bull falsely advertised the energy benefits of its products through advertising claims such as the slogan "Red Bull Gives You Wings."

According to the plaintiffs, Red Bull's advertisements violate a panoply of state consumer protection statutes by touting its effects on "performance, concentration and reaction speed" without any scientific support that its ingredients provide "any more benefit to consumers than a caffeine tablet or cup of coffee." Red Bull