Christina Spicer  |  November 12, 2019

Category: Beverages

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woman drinking penafiel bottled waterA Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water class action lawsuit alleging the company failed to warn the public about unsafe arsenic levels in some of its bottled water was dismissed, with leave to amend.

Lead plaintiff John Pels claimed in his class action lawsuit that Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water contained toxically high levels of arsenic. However, the distributor, Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., reportedly misled the public when it came to disclosing the problem.

Keurig shot back, arguing that Pels failed to show how he was injured by the lack of disclosure. U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston agreed with Keurig and dismissed the Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water class action lawsuit; however, Pels was given the opportunity to amend the complaint.

Judge Illston points out in her order dismissing the class action lawsuit that, “plaintiff has failed to plead a particularized injury by failing to plead the water he purchased contained violative arsenic levels. In his opposition, plaintiff argues ‘[p]laintiff has alleged that all Peñafiel mineral spring water during the Class Period was contaminated with arsenic’ because all Peñafiel water comes from the same source. But nowhere in the complaint, including [paragraph] 5 to which plaintiff cites, does he make such a straightforward allegation. Further, plaintiff does not specify when or where he allegedly purchased Peñafiel.”

According to the court order, Keurig pulled Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water off the shelves and issued a recall on June 21, 2019 after an independent lab found high levels of arsenic. The company also announced that it has installed new filtration systems and that the brand now meets Food and Drug Administration standards for arsenic levels.

The Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water class action lawsuit alleged that the plaintiff and other California residents had unknowingly drank water with arsenic that far exceeded the safe levels mandated by the FDA. According to the complaint, even low levels of arsenic can cause severe health problems, including diabetes, kidney and heart problems, and even cancer.

The Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water with high levels of arsenic was allegedly sold to the public since 2012. In 2015 and 2018, the FDA reportedly issued an alert about the imported water, stating that the product contained inorganic arsenic. Consumer Reports, noted the complaint, reported on the high levels of arsenic present in the bottled water earlier this year.

Did you drink Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water? Tell us more about it in the comments below!

Pels is represented by Robert C. Schubert, Willem F. Jonckheer and Noah M. Schubert of Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP; Laurence D. Paskowitz of the Paskowitz Law Firm PC; Roy L. Jacobs of Roy Jacobs & Associates; and David N. Lake of the Law Offices of David N. Lake.

The Peñafiel Mineral Spring Water Class Action Lawsuit is Pels v. Keurig Dr. Pepper Inc., Case No. 3:19-cv-03052, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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18 thoughts onPeñafiel Mineral Spring Water Class Action Over Arsenic Tossed

  1. Brenda Reed says:

    Add me

  2. Yolanda Stanley says:

    Please add me

  3. Michael Foxx says:

    Add me

  4. Gail Shepard says:

    Add me

  5. Tamara Vincent says:

    Omg, what’s next? Have bought many of these! Add me!

  6. Yvonne Pullum says:

    Add me

  7. Janie Welle says:

    I am shocked to learn about Penafiel! My husband, daughters and I started drinking the product about six years ago. Every time we went to a Mexican grocery store we always bought it. Being diabetic I always bought the water. So upset about it.

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