Real Water to ‘cooperate in every way possible’ amid litigation

A lawyer for Las Vegas-based Real Water said Monday that the company would turn over devices used to measure contaminants in the product.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration continued to investigate the cause of liver illnesses tied to the bottled water.

At least nine lawsuits have been filed in Clark County since the FDA and Southern Nevada Health District issued warnings about Real Water less than a month ago.

Craig Mueller, Real Water’s corporate counsel, told District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez during a teleconference hearing Monday that the company would “cooperate in every way possible” as litigation worked its way through court.

Attorney Will Kemp, representing dozens who said they fell ill after drinking Real Water, said he wanted to examine the company’s oxidation reduction potential meters used at manufacturing plants in Henderson and Mesa, Arizona.

Kemp filed another complaint Friday on behalf of six Clark County residents who were hospitalized late last year after suffering liver failure.

Mueller said he had one of the meters used to find the ability of water to break down and cleanse contaminants and expected to receive another later Monday.

“We are primarily concerned with the safety of the community,” Mueller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the court hearing. “Real Water is a health- and life-enhancing substance, and the idea that it has harmed someone is hurtful. We are cooperating fully in all scientifically valid inquiries into if Real Water is in fact the cause of the reported problems.”

Real Water owner Brent Jones, a former Nevada legislator, has offered a videotaped apology to customers.

Last week, the FDA announced that online retailers continued to sell Real Water, despite the recall and ongoing investigation.

The company’s website indicated it was “undergoing maintenance,” but it included links to a video statement Jones made late last month about the FDA investigation, along with a news release about the recall and a pair of “water test results” from January.

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.