Consumers from eight northeastern states have been given the green light by a U.S. District Judge to pursue a lawsuit that claims that Nestle Waters North America has been misrepresenting the source of its water.  The lawsuit claims that the company deceived them into overpaying by labeling Poland Spring as “100% Natural Spring Water.”

The lawsuit is filed on behalf of consumers from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

The complaint says that Nestle Waters sells 1 billion gallons of Poland Spring a year in the United States, and “not one drop” of its water “emanates from a water source that qualifies as a genuine legal ‘natural spring.’” The actual Poland Spring in Maine, which the defendant’s labels said is a source of Poland Spring water, “commercially ran dry” nearly 50 years ago, the complaint said.

The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Connecticut seeks unspecified damages and a permanent injunction that would bar Nestlé Waters from claiming the water comes from a spring.

Nestle says that Poland Spring brand natural spring water is just what it is labeled, “100 percent natural spring water”.

The case is Patane v. Nestle Waters North America Inc, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 17-01381.