A $2 million insurance policy is up for grabs as Great American E&S Insurance Company asks a Nevada federal court to sort out who gets paid after a flood of claims tied to Real Water’s now-infamous product.
On September 2, 2025, Great American E&S Insurance Company filed a complaint in the US District Court for the District of Nevada, seeking to deposit its entire $2 million aggregate liability policy limit for the court to distribute among dozens of claimants and several companies. According to the complaint, Real Water’s “Real² Alkalized Water” is at the center of the dispute, with numerous individuals alleging bodily injuries from consuming the product during the policy period. The number of claims and judgments, the insurer says, now far exceeds the policy’s aggregate limit.
Great American’s policy covered Real Water, Inc. and its affiliates from February 4, 2018, to February 4, 2019, providing $1 million per occurrence and $2 million in total. The complaint states that dozens of individuals allege they suffered bodily injuries after drinking Real Water’s product, and some have already obtained judgments against Real Water, with additional claims scheduled for trial.
The insurer has been defending Real Water in underlying actions where claimants allege bodily injury during the policy period. The complaint also states that Costco Wholesale Corporation, United Natural Foods, Inc., United Natural Foods West, Inc., KeHE Distributors, Inc., and KeHE Distributors, LLC have sought coverage as additional insureds under the policy, and that Great American has agreed to defend some of these parties in certain actions pursuant to reservations of rights.
Great American attempted to resolve the matter outside of court by working with the bankruptcy trustee in Real Water’s bankruptcy to reach a settlement that would have distributed the policy proceeds among claimants. The United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada denied the settlement motion on October 3, 2024, finding it lacked jurisdiction over the policy proceeds, and the settlement agreement was terminated. Great American then offered its aggregate limit in partial satisfaction of judgments entered against Real Water and in favor of Richard Belsky and Miriam Brody, but the offer was rejected by those claimants.
The complaint lists judgments entered in favor of Richard Belsky (Gallagher, et al. v. Affinitylifestiles.com, Inc. d/b/a Real Water, et al., Case No. A-21-834485-B), Miriam Brody (Hunwardsen, et al. v. Affinitylifestiles.com, Inc. d/b/a Real Water, et al., Case No. A-21-831543-B), Lisa King (King v. Real Water, Inc., et al., Case No. A-21-833-630-B), Andria Bordenave (Bordenave v. Affinitylifestyles.com, Inc., d/b/a Real Water, et al., Case No. A-23-867240-C), and James Delmar (Chang, et al. v. Real Water, et al., Case No. A-21-832269-C), all in the District Court for Clark County, Nevada.
At the heart of the dispute is the insurance policy’s language. The complaint notes that Great American agreed to pay damages for bodily injury or property damage, but only up to the policy’s limits. The policy also states that the insurer’s duty to defend ends when the applicable limit of insurance has been paid out in judgments or settlements. According to the complaint, the policy’s limits apply regardless of the number of insureds, claims, or suits, and “bodily injury” includes bodily injury, sickness, or disease sustained by a person, including death, as well as mental anguish directly resulting from physical injury, sickness, or disease.
Now, with the policy limit insufficient to cover all claims, Great American wants the federal court to take control of the money and decide how it should be distributed among the claimants and additional insureds. The company is also asking to be discharged from further liability once the funds are deposited with the court.
As of the filing date, the court has not yet ruled on the distribution or on Great American’s request for discharge. All information in this article is based solely on the allegations and statements contained in the complaint filed by Great American E&S Insurance Company in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, Case No. 2:25-cv-01638, on September 2, 2025. The outcome of this case will be watched by insurance professionals interested in how limited policy proceeds are distributed when claims outpace coverage.
