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Practice Area
Brands across key sectors turn to Winston litigators to defend their reputations in advertising class actions, competitor disputes, and investigations. With litigators based in the U.S.’s busiest jurisdictions—including courts in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas—we have deep experience and prowess in handling some of the most high-profile and business-essential advertising cases in recent history. These disputes have involved false advertising; unfair competition, unfair business practices, and unjust enrichment; copyright, trade name, and service mark infringement; consumer-protection claims; and violations of the Lanham Act.
Practice Area
Government Program Fraud, False Claims Act & Qui Tam Litigation
Investigations and litigation involving alleged fraud against the government pose a significant and growing threat to organizations and individuals across all industries that engage directly or indirectly in business with federal, state, and/or local governments. The government makes aggressive use of its extensive criminal and civil investigatory powers to root out alleged fraud and abuse implicating government funds, including one of its most powerful civil enforcement tools—the federal False Claims Act (FCA)—and similar state false claims statutes.
Practice Area
Class Actions & Group Litigation
Winston has developed a consistent record of success handling class action cases in state and federal courts. The practice is anchored by seasoned class action lawyers, many of whom have been recognized by Chambers USA and other ranking organizations as being top practitioners in their field. Our clients rely on us to steer them through class action matters by drawing on the firm’s significant experience in resolving complex litigation using creative and aggressive arguments, across a broad range of class, collective, coordinated, and mass actions, as well multidistrict litigation. We also have succeeded at trial in several class actions—a rare occurrence.
Experience 14 results
Experience
|January 16, 2025
Winston Wins Dismissal of False Advertising Claims Against Birdseed Manufacturer
Plaintiffs filed suit in the Northern District of California, claiming a publicly traded market leader in the pet and garden industries misled consumers with its "Wild Bird Seed" and "Wild Bird Feed" products because they contained milo, which wild birds supposedly dislike. Winston argued the products had ingredients birds eat, birds can eat milo, and plaintiffs got what they paid for. On January 16, 2025, the court dismissed the class action, allowing an amendment, but plaintiffs voluntarily dropped it instead.
Experience
|June 28, 2024
Agreement Between 119 Institutional Investors and the Company Vivendi SE
119 institutional investors, among which Union Asset Management Holding, accused the French company Vivendi of having disseminated false or misleading information between 2000 and 2002, thereby causing them an important stock market damage.
Experience
|June 13, 2023
The J.M. Smucker Company Beats False Advertising Class Action
Winston’s advertising litigation team defended The J.M. Smucker Company in a putative false advertising class action filed in the Central District of California concerning the Nutrish brand, alleging false and misleading marketing tactics. The plaintiff alleged that Nutrish Zero Grain products are not “wholesome” and “safe” because of the products’ lack of taurine fortification, an essential amino acid that may help dogs avoid canine dilatated cardiomyopathy. Winston successfully moved to dismiss the case.
Insights & News 913 results
Seminar/CLE
|September 18, 2025
Winston Hosts New York Financial Services Symposium 2025
Winston’s Financial Services Industry Group was pleased to host our New York Financial Services Symposium. The event included a half-day of programming led by top industry thought leaders. Find key takeaways from each panel discussion below.
Direct Sellers Update: Regulation, Law & Policy
|September 16, 2025
|6 Min Read
The FTC Trades Blanket Non-Compete Bans for Case-by-Case Enforcement
Direct Sellers, time to let out a sigh of relief. On September 5, 2025, the Federal Trade Commission officially dropped its appeal of a federal court’s decision striking down the FTC’s rule banning non-competes.
Investigations, Enforcement, & Compliance Alerts
|September 10, 2025
|4 Min Read
DoD Publishes Final Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification Rule
On September 10, 2025, the Department of Defense (DoD) published its long-awaited final DFARS rule on the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program.
Other Results 40 results
Law Glossary
What Is Advertising Litigation?
Advertising litigation is defined as the legal area that covers false or deceptive advertising cases. Lawsuits may be brought by government agencies or corporate competitors based on the Lanham Act—a law that specifically deals with false advertising. The Act outlines how an advertisement can be deemed false. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has the ability to file lawsuits to halt deceptive advertising claims. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration may also pursue advertising litigation against violators of government regulations. Companies may be called on to substantiate their advertising claims, whether these are made in print or online.
Law Glossary
What Is Consumer Marketing Law?
Consumer marketing law is a broad legal segment dealing with federal and state statutes, along with government regulations, established to ensure that marketing and advertising are truthful. Federal law states that no form of advertising, including online advertising, can be deceptive. Marketing claims must also be evidence-based.
Law Glossary
Dark patterns are deceptive or manipulative designs on digital platforms that trick users into making unintended choices. Dark patterns can appear as designs that create misleading impressions, hide or delay disclosure of material information, lead to unauthorized charges, or obscure privacy choices. Some examples include advertisements deceptively formatted to look like independent editorial content; non-descriptive dropdowns, arrows, or small icons to hide the full cost and other terms, free trials that automatically convert to recurring subscriptions; and prominent cookie-consent banners that hide cookie-rejection options.