LAS VEGAS – Lawsuits are brewing against a Las Vegas-based bottled water brand, Real Water, amid an investigation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and accusations by more people in more states that it caused liver and other diseases illnesses.
The case of a Nevada man blamed the product for his liver transplant in September 2019, a federal class action was opened this week in Nevada and another lawsuit filed in the state court also sought class action status.
“The defendants … sold their product as ‘the healthiest drinking water today’,” said lawyers Gustavo Ponce and Mona Amini in the third case, representing Peter Anthony Arambula. “In reality, it has dangerous levels of toxins, making it unsafe and dangerous to human life.”
Brent Jones, president of the bottler, AffinityLifestyles.com Inc., and a former Republican legislator from the state of Nevada, did not immediately respond on Wednesday to telephone and email messages seeking comment.
Jones issued a statement on March 17 asking stores across the country to remove Real Water from the shelves “until the problem is resolved”.
Now, a nearly two-minute video message featuring Jones on the Real Water website offers “the deepest sympathy and concern about the events that led to the investigation.”
He said that the “voluntary national recall of all products” will remain in effect “until the safety of our product is clearly established.”
The lawsuits follow an FDA warning last week not to drink, cook, sell or serve Real Water, which is widely marketed in the U.S.
Lee Gray, a lawyer who represents the company in the FDA investigation, said on Wednesday that Real Water “issued a voluntary product recall and is continuing to work closely with the FDA to investigate and determine the root cause of any problems with your products. ” He declined to comment on the lawsuits.
Will Kemp, a Las Vegas lawyer, launched the legal barrage with a case of civil negligence and deceptive business practices filed on March 16. He blamed water for liver disease in five hospitalized children.
The Southern Nevada regional health district has reported disease research from six other people since November 2020, who reported less severe symptoms, including vomiting, nausea, loss of appetite and fatigue.
A new Kemp lawsuit, opened on Monday on behalf of plaintiff Myles Hunwardsen and four others, blamed the water for Hunwardsen’s liver failure in September 2019. He said he received a liver transplant at a hospital in Los Angeles .
“Real Water is believed to be the cause of an extraordinary number of liver damage cases involving Nevada residents,” the lawsuit said.
The separate class action malpractice case opened on Monday by attorney David Hilton Wise at the United States District Court in Las Vegas seeks unspecified damages on behalf of three California women.
It alleges misleading business practices and misleading advertising, and identifies the class of potential injured plaintiffs as anyone in the United States who purchased Real Water “for personal, family or domestic use”.
Real Water is marketed as premium drinking water with healthy detoxifying properties. It comes in distinctive square blue bottles with labels calling it “alkalized” and “infused with negative ions”.
Kemp’s lawsuits say the water is taken from the public tap water supply in Las Vegas.
The company posted copies of technical water quality reports dated 6 January and listed the certification in 42 states and the US territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands Community.