CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Will Kemp delivering his closing argument
Las Vegas, NV - A Nevada state court jury returned a $5 billion punitive damages verdict Wednesday in a lawsuit stemming from the contamination of an ‘alkaline water” health drink by a defunct beverage company, and the full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
The verdict comes in addition to $230 million in compensatory damages the jury also awarded to 15 plaintiffs who claim they developed serious liver illness after drinking Real Water, which touted the health benefits of higher alkaline levels but accidentally became contaminated with a toxic chemical during the manufacturing process.
The trial marked the fourth time a Clark County jury returned a large award against Affinitylifestyles.com Inc., the Las Vegas-based company that marketed and sold Real Water. The bankrupt company’s attorneys admit the Real Water became contaminated with hydrazine - a toxic chemical used in jet fuel - but they argue for lower compensatory awards and claim punitive damages are unwarranted, maintaining that industry-standard safety testing would not detect hydrazine.
The full trial was recorded gavel-to-gavel by CVN, in addition to two of the previous trials. These are included with a subscription to CVN’s online trial video library, which includes hundreds of civil trials featuring many of the top plaintiff and defense attorneys from throughout the United States.
During the trial attorney Will Kemp of Kemp Jones described how his 15 clients suffered acute liver failure after drinking Real Water and how one ultimately had to have a liver transplant.
Kemp explained acute liver failure is a relatively uncommon medical condition, and a sudden cluster of patients all suffering from it concerned Nevada health authorities who eventually pulled the drink from shelves in 2021.
After the trial Kemp told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that defense attorneys attempted to settle the case for $6.9 million, but that Real Water’s insurer pressed for a trial. He said he expects the company’s insurers will use Real Water’s bankruptcy to argue they shouldn’t be responsible for damages warded in the previous trials.
Nevada Law limits punitive damages to three times the amount of compensatory damages if compensatory damages are $100,000 or more. Yet while the punitive damages award will eventually be reduced, verdicts of this scale could strengthen plaintiffs’ position in any large scale resolution of related cases.
Kemp says he represents 62 additional plaintiffs sickened by Real Water, and that another trial in Las Vegas is scheduled for next February.
The trial took place before Judge Timothy Williams.
The case is captioned Hunter Brown v. Affinitylifestyles.com Inc., case number A-21-831776-B
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com