Nestle seeks dismissal of Poland Spring false advertising lawsuit

Update: 

• Nestle asked a North Carolina federal judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit claiming the company’s Poland Spring water is not sourced from an actual spring as advertised.
• Nestle argues its references to spring water on the labeling for Poland Springs can mean different things to different consumers and the claims failed to suggest the company tricked consumers.  
• The company also argued the class action lawsuit did not prove any confusion as a result of the products labeling. 
• The complaint, which the plaintiffs originally filed in 2017 and then amended, claims Poland Springs water mainly comes from wells rather than springs. 

(Aug. 16, 2017)

Eleven consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Nestle Waters North America Inc. over allegations its Poland Spring “100% Natural Spring Water” bottled water products are illegally mislabeled because they allegedly contain common groundwater.

“Not one drop of Poland Spring Water emanates from a water source that complies with the Food and Drug Administration (‘FDA’) definition of ‘spring water,’” the plaintiffs allege in their 322-page complaint.

They claim Nestle misidentifies hundreds of millions of gallons of Poland Spring bottled water as spring water that comes from one or more of eight “natural springs” in the state of Maine. However, the water contained in Poland Spring brand bottled water is actually from ordinary groundwater collected from Maine’s most populous counties, according to the lawsuit.

“FDA regulations require all bottled spring water to be collected either at the source of a naturally occurring spring or from a well that extracts water that could otherwise exit the earth’s surface from a natural spring if not drawn from the well,” the Poland Spring class action lawsuit states.

Under FDA regulations, the well water must be “hydraulically connected” to a natural spring and have the same physical and chemical characteristics as the spring water, the Poland Spring class action lawsuit asserts.

“Not one ounce of Defendant’s Poland Spring Water complies with the law’s mandates,” the plaintiffs allege in the Poland Spring class action lawsuit.

To produce the nearly 1 billion gallons of spring water per year that is purportedly used in Poland Spring bottled water, each of Nestle’s eight springs would have to have an average flow at a rate of 245 gallons per minute, “or more forcefully than a 2-inch diameter fire hose at 40 pounds per square inch,” the Poland Spring class action lawsuit alleges.

This rate of flow would make the springs more like a geyser, but there is no evidence that one such spring, let alone eight such springs, exists on or near Nestle’s sites in Maine. Further, the name Poland Spring refers to a spring that ran dry nearly 50 years ago, the Poland Spring class action lawsuit alleges. Therefore, the plaintiffs claim, Nestle’s use of the Poland Spring Brand name is unlawful.

Nestle Waters North America denies the plaintiffs’ allegations.

A spokesperson for Nestle Waters North America contacted Top Class Actions with the following statement:

“For more than 170 years, Poland Spring® has delivered great tasting spring water from Maine to millions of people in the Northeast. The claims made in the lawsuit are without merit and an obvious attempt to manipulate the legal system for personal gain. Poland Spring® is 100% spring water. It meets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations defining spring water, all state regulations governing spring classification for standards of identity, as well as all federal and state regulations governing spring water collection, good manufacturing practices, product quality and labeling. We remain highly confident in our legal position.”

The Poland Spring class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the 11 named plaintiffs as well as a putative Class of consumers who purchased Poland Spring water after Nov. 5, 2013. The plaintiffs also seek to represent subclasses of consumers who purchased Poland Spring water in the following states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hamphsire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

The plaintiffs assert claims against Nestle for fraud, breach of contract and violations of certain state consumer protection laws.

The plaintiffs are represented by Craig A. Raabe and Robert A. Izard of Izard Kindall & Raabe LLP; Alexander H. Schmidt; Steven N. Williams and Alexander E. Barnett of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; and Steven G. Sklaver, Amanda Bonn and Oleg Elkhunovich of Susman Godfrey LLP.

The Poland Spring Bottled Water Class Action Lawsuit is Mark J. Patane v. Nestle Waters North America Inc., Case No. 3:17-cv-01381, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut.

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