On September 27, 2016, the Northern District of Florida issued a decision in Pye v. Fifth Generation, Inc., N.D. Fla. No. 4:14cv493-RH/CAS, one of many false advertising class actions brought against the makers of Tito’s “Handmade” Vodka.
Although Tito’s has lost a number of decisions on motions to dismiss and summary judgment motions in other jurisdictions, Pye delivers a win. Having already dismissed claims related to the generic “handmade” claim, the recent Pye decision grants summary judgment on the final challenged claim – that Tito’s is made in “an old fashioned pot still.” According to the court, any pot still can be described as “old fashioned” when compared to a column still, and no reasonable consumer could read the claim to represent that all Tito’s comes from the same still.
