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Poland Spring Water
Legal Briefs - 10/23/2003 1:59:02 PM
$12 million Poland Spring settlement being weighed
PORTLAND, ME - An Illinois judge will probably issue a decision early next month on whether to accept a proposed $12 million settlement in the case against Poland Spring Water, The Associated Press (AP) said in an article reported by MaineToday.com.
The Maine company announced in August that it had settled the lawsuit. But lawyers with class-action lawsuits pending against Poland Spring Water in other states objected, saying the settlement was too favorable to the company, the news service said.
Competing arguments were aired this week before Illinois Circuit Court Judge Michael J. Colwell, who gave lawyers a week to propose orders for him to issue.
The lawsuit charges that Poland Spring´s water is not naturally pure, not from protected sources, not from deep in the Maine woods and not even from a spring, as the company´s ads claim. The company, which is owned by Nestle, denies the allegations, but spokeswoman Jane Lazgin said Poland Spring agreed to settle to get the matter behind it, the article stated.
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Lawsuit: Poland Spring water not what it seems
BOSTON - Food giant Nestle has duped Americans who buy Poland Spring bottled water into thinking it comes from a lush spring tucked deep in the woods of Maine, according to a class-action lawsuit reported by Reuters.
Instead, most of the sources for Poland Spring are either surrounded by asphalt parking lots or potentially dangerous contamination, the lawsuit filed against a subsidiary of Swiss-based Nestle SA (NESZn.VX) stated.
"Consumers purchase Poland Spring thinking they are getting a higher-quality natural spring water, but our suit will show that Poland Spring is neither natural nor spring water, and in fact comes from sources of a lesser quality than some tap water," Tom Sobol, an attorney who filed the complaint, told Reuters.
Nestle Waters North America, the Connecticut-based Nestle unit that was slapped with the lawsuit, told the news service it was outraged by the allegations.
"Poland Spring is exactly what we say it is - natural spring water - and there are many criteria for that," Nestle spokeswoman Jane Lazgin said in the article. "The truth will come to light. We will certainly defend our good name against these false charges."
According to Reuters, the complaint was filed in Connecticut Superior Court and claims that Nestle falsely labels Poland Spring as coming from "deep in the woods of Maine." It says the original Poland Spring has not flowed for more than 35 years and the actual sources of the water - some of which are 30 miles away - depend on man-made wells that draw more than 6 million gallons of water a year.
Nestle is also accused of falsely advertising Poland Spring as "naturally purified" or "spring water" because the water does not meet the scientific definition for spring water, the article stated.
In addition to demanding restitution for the general public, the lawsuit seeks to ban Nestle from promoting or advertising products as "spring water" if they do not meet scientific definitions.
Nestle Waters North America Inc. said on its website that it is the largest bottled water company in the United States, with brands including Calistoga and Deer Park in its portfolio. Poland Spring is distributed throughout the northeastern United States as well as parts of the South and Midwest, the news service reported.
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