Energy Drink Lawsuit Over Teen’s Death: Alani Nu, Monster, Panera

In April 2026, the family of 17-year-old Larissa Rodriguez filed a wrongful death lawsuit tied to her fatal heart condition, launching what has become the most closely watched Alani Nu lawsuit over a teen’s death. The Texas cheerleader’s parents allege that daily consumption of Alani Nu energy drinks caused the cardiomyopathy that killed her in October 2025, and their case now sits alongside a growing set of claims against energy drink makers and sellers over cardiac injuries and deaths.

Who Larissa Rodriguez Was and How She Died

Larissa Nicole Rodriguez was a senior at Weslaco High School in South Texas, a varsity cheer co-captain, student council president, and National Honor Society parliamentarian who planned to study law at the University of Texas at Austin.¹ She died on October 20, 2025.² The Hidalgo County medical examiner determined her cause of death was cardiomyopathy caused by excessive caffeine consumption.³

According to family attorney Benny Agosto Jr., Rodriguez had consumed at least one Alani Nu energy drink per day over the prior year, sometimes more, often alongside sports and school activities. Testing found no alcohol or drugs in her system, only caffeine, and Agosto stated she had no pre-existing heart conditions.⁴

What the Lawsuit Claims

The suit was filed on April 8, 2026, in Hidalgo County’s 370th District Court by the Houston firm Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner, and seeks more than $1 million in damages.⁴⁵

The complaint alleges that Alani Nu energy drinks are defectively designed, deceptively marketed, and carry inadequate warnings. Each 12-ounce can holds 200 milligrams of caffeine, double the 100-milligram daily maximum the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends for adolescents.³ The plaintiffs say the drinks also contain undisclosed amounts of taurine, L-theanine, guarana seed extract, and other stimulants that compound cardiac risk beyond the labeled caffeine.⁶

On marketing, the complaint alleges Alani Nu uses social media influencers, wellness-centered branding, and colorful packaging to appeal to young women and minors while presenting the product as a lifestyle beverage rather than a concentrated stimulant.³ The existing can warning — “Not recommended for children under 18, those sensitive to caffeine, pregnant or nursing women” — is described in the complaint as “small, inconspicuous text that is easily overlooked and wholly inadequate.”⁷

Plaintiff’s counsel points to an August 2023 recall by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which flagged Alani Nu products for noncompliant caffeine levels and labeling, as evidence the manufacturer was aware of safety concerns. That recall covered all Alani Nu caffeinated energy drink flavors under Canada’s 180-milligram-per-serving cap.⁵⁸

Who Is Being Sued, and Who Isn’t

The lawsuit names Glazer’s Beer and Beverage LLC and Glazer’s Beer and Beverage of Texas LLC, the Dallas-based regional distributor that trucked Alani Nu products to retailers including H-E-B stores across the Rio Grande Valley.⁹¹⁰⁵

Glazer’s filed an original answer on May 22, 2026, denying “each and every allegation.” The company argued it is a non-manufacturing seller that did not design, formulate, or market the product; that adequate warnings appeared on the label; and that any damages resulted from “superseding causes” or the plaintiffs’ own negligence.¹¹ On June 1, 2026, Glazer’s filed a motion to dismiss, contending that the plaintiffs deliberately excluded the manufacturer to avoid federal diversity jurisdiction and that claims against a distributor are barred by the Texas Product Liability Act.¹²

Celsius Holdings, though not a defendant, said it takes product safety seriously, noted that Alani Nu labels disclose the 200-milligram caffeine content and carry a warning against use by children, pregnant women, nursing women, and people sensitive to caffeine, and stated that its policy is not to market or sample the drink to anyone under 18.⁴

Texas Attorney General Investigation

On June 4, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a formal investigation into Celsius Holdings and Alani Nutrition to determine whether the companies violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by misleading consumers about the safety of Alani Nu for teenagers and children. The attorney general’s office cited “colorful packaging, playful design elements, and youth-oriented branding strategies” and said the products typically lack warnings about age-specific health risks.¹³ Celsius denied the allegations and said it would cooperate with the review.¹⁴

Other Energy Drink Death Cases

The Rodriguez case fits a pattern that has been building for more than a decade. Wrongful death and personal injury claims against energy drink companies were rare before 2010 and have grown since.

Monster Energy

In October 2012, the parents of 14-year-old Anais Fournier sued Monster Beverage in California, alleging she died of cardiac arrest after drinking two 24-ounce cans of Monster Energy over two days in December 2011. An autopsy cited cardiac arrhythmia due to caffeine toxicity.¹⁵ Monster contested the claim and pointed to pre-existing conditions, including Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and cardiac fibrosis, in her medical history.¹⁶ The case settled for an undisclosed amount. A separate June 2013 suit by the mother of 19-year-old Alex Morris, who died of cardiac arrhythmia allegedly linked to daily Monster consumption, also settled on undisclosed terms.¹⁷

Panera Charged Lemonade

Panera Bread faced at least four lawsuits alleging that its “Charged Lemonade,” which contained up to 390 milligrams of caffeine in a large serving along with guarana extract, caused cardiac arrest, death, or permanent heart injury. The most prominent case involved 21-year-old University of Pennsylvania student Sarah Katz, who had long QT syndrome and died of cardiac arrest on September 10, 2022 after drinking it.¹⁸ Other plaintiffs included Dennis Brown, a 46-year-old Florida man who died; Lauren Skerritt, a 28-year-old Rhode Island woman who alleged permanent cardiac injuries; and Luke Adams, a Pennsylvania teenager who suffered cardiac arrest. All four cases settled for undisclosed amounts, Panera denied wrongdoing, and the company pulled Charged Lemonade from menus nationwide in May 2024.¹⁹

What the Science Says About Caffeine and Young Hearts

A Mayo Clinic retrospective study published in 2024 reviewed 144 survivors of sudden cardiac arrest and found that seven, about 5%, had an unexplained arrest temporally associated with energy drink consumption. All seven stopped drinking energy drinks afterward and remained event-free.²⁰

Research published in The Journal of Pediatrics in 2024 found that cardiovascular issues accounted for nearly 48% of all adverse health events reported in children and adolescents after energy drink consumption, including tachycardia, arrhythmias, hypertension, cardiomyopathy, and sudden cardiac arrest. The authors noted that people with underlying genetic heart conditions, sometimes undiagnosed, face elevated risk even at lower consumption levels.²¹

Energy drinks can contain anywhere from 50 to more than 500 milligrams of caffeine per can, well past the FDA-regulated limit of 71 milligrams per 12 ounces for soft drinks. Recommended daily upper limits for adolescents are no more than 100 milligrams, according to the American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry.²¹²²

How Energy Drinks Are Regulated

There is no FDA regulation specific to “energy drinks.” The term itself is an industry creation, not a formal category.²³ Companies can market their products as conventional beverages or as dietary supplements, each subject to different rules. Supplements, governed by the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, do not undergo FDA approval before sale and may list a “proprietary blend” without disclosing amounts of individual ingredients.²⁴

The FDA has not set a maximum caffeine limit for energy drinks. It cites 400 milligrams per day as generally not linked to negative effects for most healthy adults, a figure that does not apply to children or adolescents. Manufacturers must list caffeine when added as a standalone ingredient but are not required to disclose the total caffeine content; many do so voluntarily. Federal law includes no mandatory warnings for minors, pregnant women, or breastfeeding mothers.²³²¹

Efforts to Restrict Sales to Minors

No U.S. state currently bans energy drink sales to minors, though proposals exist. Maine introduced LD 17 to prohibit sales to anyone under 18, with fines from $50 to $500 per violation.²⁵ In 2025, Connecticut advanced HB 6185, which set up a working group on the medical risks of youth energy drink consumption, required a report by November 2025, and required retailers to post risk-awareness notices at point of sale starting January 2026.²⁶

Several countries have gone further. Lithuania, Latvia, Turkey, and Sweden ban energy drink sales to minors outright. Poland enacted a ban effective January 1, 2024, covering beverages with added caffeine above 150 milligrams per liter or containing taurine. Polish energy drink sales volume dropped 14% in the first month after the ban took effect.²⁷

Where the Case Stands

As of mid-2026, the Rodriguez family’s wrongful death lawsuit remains pending in Hidalgo County, with Glazer’s seeking dismissal and family attorneys signaling plans to add Alani Nutrition and Celsius Holdings as defendants. The Texas attorney general’s investigation into Celsius and Alani Nutrition is in early stages, with no announced timeline. Attorneys involved have drawn explicit comparisons to early tobacco lawsuits, framing the strategy as an effort to establish that energy drink companies knowingly marketed a dangerous, inadequately labeled product to minors.⁵¹⁴

1
Newsweek. Who Was Larissa Rodriguez, Cheerleader Whose Death Was Linked to Energy Drinks
2
KRGV. Attorneys Discuss Lawsuit Filed in Connection With Death of Weslaco High School Cheerleader
3
FOX 26 Houston. Lawsuit: Texas Cheerleader Larissa Rodriguez Death Tied to Excessive Caffeine Consumption
4
NBC News. Texas Teen’s Death Linked to Caffeine From Alani Nu Energy Drink, Family Alleges
5
Texas Lawyer. Death by Caffeine: In Emerging Trend, Lawsuits Target Energy Drink Companies
6
Valley Central. Parents of Weslaco Cheerleader File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Energy Drink Distributor
7
Cardiovascular Business. Can Energy Drinks Cause Heart Disease? New Lawsuit Says Teen Died of Caffeine-Induced Cardiomyopathy
8
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9
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10
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11
Valley Central. Energy Drink Distributor Denies Each and Every Allegation in Weslaco Cheerleader’s Wrongful Death Lawsuit
12
My RGV. Beverage Distributors Deny Allegations in Wrongful Death Lawsuit of Weslaco Teen
13
Texas Attorney General. Attorney General Ken Paxton Announces Investigation Into Celsius Energy Drink Company
14
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15
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16
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17
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18
CBS News Philadelphia. Charged Lemonade Lawsuit: Panera Bread, Sarah Katz
19
NBC News. Panera Settles Remaining Lawsuits Over Highly Caffeinated Charged Lemonade
20
ScienceDirect. Energy Drink Consumption and Sudden Cardiac Arrest
21
The Journal of Pediatrics. Energy Drinks and Cardiovascular Risk in Children and Adolescents
22
Today. Alani Nu Energy Drink Lawsuit: Death of Larissa Rodriguez and Cardiomyopathy
23
FDA. Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much
24
National Library of Medicine. Energy Drink Regulation and Classification
25
Maine Legislature. An Act to Prohibit the Sale of Energy Drinks to Minors
26
Connecticut General Assembly. An Act Concerning the Consumption of Energy Drinks by Children
27
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