On October 22, 2021, the Court of Appeal for the Ninth Circuit issued an unpublished opinion affirming dismissal of consumer false advertising claims against Nestlé’s Arrowhead brand water based on the mountain image at the front of the Arrowhead label. 

The plaintiff argued that she believed the mountain printed on the front of the Arrowhead label to be "Arrowhead Mountain," and on the basis of that belief, determined that "NESTLÉ Product was [sourced exclusively] from the springs in the arrowhead mountain."

The Court rejected this agreement and found that there was not “any indication that the image of the mountain and lake refer to any specific mountain or lake.” Instead, the image of the mountain and lake would lead a reasonable consumer to believe “the true statement that Arrowhead Water is comprised entirely of mountain spring water.”

The Court noted that the Ninth Circuit’s reasonable consumer standard was the appropriate way to evaluate the claims and held that the facts presented the “rare case where this Court may conclude on the pleadings that no reasonable consumer would be misled by any of the product labels at issue in this suit.”