Nestle Continues Legal Assault Against Opponents: This Time it’s Miami-Dade

For all Nestle Waters of North America’s pretense at being a “good corporate neighbor,” they’ve got a hair-trigger response to opposition: File a lawsuit (or threaten one).

Their latest legal bludgeoning is aimed at Miami-Dade County in Florida, which had the temerity to suggest its tap water was tested more frequently than bottled water products (true), and that buying bottled water was a waste (also true).

Unfortunately, this little exercise in free speech angered Nestle, who is now threatening to sue, despite not being named in the ads. From the Miami-Herald, we present Bottled water firm steamed about Miami-Dade water ads

In the radio ad, a talking faucet extols Miami-Dade’s tap water as cheaper, purer and safer than bottled water.

It may have sounded innocuous to most listeners, but the 30-second spot left the nation’s largest purveyor of bottled water boiling mad.

Nestle Waters North America, which makes nearly $4 billion a year selling Zephyrhills and other brands, is threatening to sue if the county doesn’t kill commercials the company brands as false advertising.

”It’s an attack on the integrity of the company,” said Nestle spokesman Jim McClellan. “It’s an attack on the product we produce — and it’s blatantly wrong.”

With the ads ending a five-week run last month and no plans to revive it, the county considers the legal issues moot. But John Renfrow, director of the Water and Sewer Department, defended the county’s right to tout its tap water. ”Basically, the message is that our water is fine,” he said. “It’s wonderful. It’s delicious. This is just one of many different spots we’ve done.”

Nestle’s bluster seems oddly misplaced; why mount a legal assault when the ad campaign has already run it’s course?

Simple.

Because they don’t want any other utilities getting the same idea.

In other words, this is a shot across the bow – a preemptive attempt at legal intimidation of others.

Unfortunately, intimidating legal action is standard fare at the company, which tried to subpoena the private financial records of opponents in McCloud, and has sued the tiny town of Fryeburg five times in an apparent attempt to warn other small towns about the consequences of saying “no.”

From the same Miami Herald story:

Environmentalists blasted the threat against the state’s largest utility — believed to be a first — as a warning shot from an industry worried about slow sales after years of gushing growth.

“Nestle should be ashamed for harassing Miami for promoting its own water,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Washington-based Food & Water Watch. “This is just outrageous. It’s just a way to scare off other utilities.”

Apparently, even speaking the truth about tap vs bottled water is enough to draw a legal threat out of Nestle, which doesn’t seem to have a case.

Linda Young, director of the Florida Clean Water Network, which has
opposed state environmental permits for bottlers, called Nestle’s
arguments dubious.

”Tap water is superior in some ways. It’s
right there in your house,” she said. “If these companies think
they’re going to come into Florida and threaten citizens or governments
when we give an opinion, that’s another reason to make them leave.”

The statements of Nestle’s operatives also highlight another little bit of hypocrisy; Nestle has long maintained they don’t denigrate public water supplies to sell bottled water, but there it is black and white:

Nestles’ Mathews argues that additional treatment
– including reverse osmosis, ozone disinfection instead of chlorine
and sealed bottles — delivers a better, and better tasting, product
than tap.

Here’s an open question for Nestle: when is all the pushback you receive for your predatory tactics going to result in an honest reassessment of your tactics – instead of another lawsuit?

nestle, nestle waters of north america, bottled water, florida

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