By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – A federal judge in Connecticut refused to dismiss a long-running lawsuit alleging the former Nestle (NS:) Waters (NYSE:) North America for defrauding consumers by labeling its Poland Spring bottled water as “spring water.”

While rejecting some claims in the proposed class action, US District Judge Jeffrey Alker Meyer of New Haven called it an open question whether Poland Spring qualifies as spring water under Connecticut laws, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island.

Poland Spring is now owned by Primo Brands, following several corporate transactions. The Tampa, Florida-based company was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.

Consumers sued Nestle Waters, then owned by Nestle, in 2017, saying they were misled by overcharging for Poland Spring with labels declaring it to be “Natural Spring Water” or “100% Natural Spring Water.”

The plaintiffs said that “not one drop” of the 1 billion gallons sold annually in the United States came from the natural spring, and that the actual Poland Spring in Maine “dried up” two decades before Nestle bought it. the brand in 1992.

In seeking the dismissal, Nestle Waters said geologists and officials in eight states agreed that Poland Spring complied with a US Food and Drug Administration rule that defines spring water, and each state allows selling it as “spring water.”

But the judge cited a former Syracuse University soil science professor hired by the plaintiffs, who said Nestle Waters appears to have used man-made springs and taken pond water and other surface water instead of ” real” spring water.

Meyer agreed with Nestle Waters that the plaintiffs lacked standing to demand new labels, since they now know the alleged “truth” about Poland Spring and can buy other brands of water.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nestle Waters is Nestle’s North American bottled water business. Nestle sold it in 2021 to two private equity firms, naming it BlueTriton. That company merged in November with the former Primo Water (NYSE: ) to form Primo Brands.

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