Written by Jonathan Stemple
(Reuters) – A federal judge in Connecticut refused to dismiss a long-running lawsuit accusing the former Nestle (NS:) Waters (NYSE:) North America defrauded consumers by labeling Poland Spring's bottled water as “spring water.”
While dismissing some of the claims in the proposed class action, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer in New Haven called it an open question whether Poland Spring qualifies as spring water under the laws of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.
Poland Spring is now owned by Primo Brands, after multiple corporate transactions. The Tampa, Florida-based company had no immediate comment Tuesday.
Consumers sued Nestlé Waters, which is owned by Nestlé, in 2017, saying it deceived them into overpaying for Poland Spring with labels declaring it “natural spring water” or “100% natural spring water.”
Prosecutors said that “one drop” of the billion gallons sold annually in the United States came from a natural spring, and that Poland's actual spring in Maine “dryed up” two decades before Nestlé bought the brand in 1992.
In seeking a dismissal, Nestlé Waters said geologists and officials in the eight states agreed that Poland Spring complied with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration rule that defines spring water, and that each state allowed it to be sold as “spring water.”
But the judge cited a former Syracuse University geosciences professor hired by prosecutors, who said Nestlé Waters appeared to be using man-made springs and extracting pond water and other surface water rather than “real” spring water.
Mayer agreed with Nestlé Waters that the plaintiffs lacked standing to demand new labels, because they now knew the alleged “truth” about Poland Spring and could purchase other brands of water.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nestlé Waters was Nestlé's bottled water subsidiary in North America. Nestlé sold it in 2021 to two private equity firms, renaming it Plutriton. This company merged in November with the former Primo Water (NYSE:) to form Primo Brands.
The case is Battan v. Nestle Waters North America Inc., U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 17-01381.
