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Panera is comparing the lawsuit to the family of a New Jersey woman who died after drinking Charged Lemonade
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Panera is comparing the lawsuit to the family of a New Jersey woman who died after drinking Charged Lemonade

Panera Bread has settled a lawsuit filed by the family of a Jersey City student with a heart condition who died after drinking the store’s highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade Drink.

Sarah Katz, 21, of Jersey City, was attending the University of Pennsylvania when she purchased the drink at a Panera store in Philadelphia on Sept. 10, 2022, and died the same day, according to a wrongful death lawsuit.

The case was tentatively dismissed Monday after the parties reached an agreement, court documents show.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed and attorneys for the student’s parents, Michael and Jill Katz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Joseph H. Blum, the Philadelphia attorney representing Panera, declined to comment on the case or the settlement reached Tuesday.

Sarah Katz was diagnosed at age 5 with a disease in which the potassium ion channels in her heart malfunction, disrupting the heart’s electrical activity and causing cardiac arrhythmias, according to the lawsuit filed on behalf of her parents.

According to the lawsuit, vigorous exercise such as swimming and energy drinks can cause life-threatening irregular heartbeats in people with the condition.

As a precaution, Sarah Katz visited a cardiologist twice a year, took medication and avoided “energy drinks and highly caffeinated beverages,” the lawsuit says.

Sarah Katz grew up in Jersey City and graduated from Elisabeth Irwin High School in New York City before moving to Pennsylvania to attend university.

The lawsuit was at least one of several alleging that the supercharged soda, which the store no longer sells, was responsible for health effects or death.

Less than two months after the Katz family filed suit, a second lawsuit alleged that a Florida man died from consuming a Panera-charged drink.

The family of Dennis Brown, 46, of Fleming, Florida, claims he suffered cardiac arrest after consuming three Panera Charged Lemonade drinks called “Mango Yuzu Citrus,” according to a lawsuit filed in Delaware state court.

The lawsuits allege that Panera Bread Company was required to label the beverage as an “energy drink” but instead marketed the product as “plant-based and clean with as much caffeine as our dark roast coffee.”

According to court documents, Panera Charged Lemonade also contains large amounts of sugar and the stimulant “guarana” as another source of the caffeine content.

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Anthony G. Attrino available at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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