THE $35,000 NO-SHOW: Plaintiff Craig Cunningham Skips Contempt Hearing And The Court Dismissed His Case Completely

Hi TCPAWorld! We previously reported on the escalating saga of repeat TCPA litigator Craig Cunningham, who was staring down the barrel of potential incarceration for contempt of court. Cunningham v. Jordan et al, 1:22-cv-01419-WMR. To recap, Mr. Cunningham was ordered to pay over $20,000 in sanctions plus a $300.00 per day penalty for willful non-compliance. The order also required the plaintiff to appear in person on May 19, 2025, to show cause why he should not be thrown in federal prison for contempt of court: CONSEQUENCES: Repeat TCPA Litigator Craig Cunningham May Be Headed to Jail For Contempt And This is As Serious as It Gets – TCPAWorld.

Well, on May 19, 2025, the judge was there, and the defense lawyers were there, but the plaintiff was not. According to the court record, the plaintiff did not appear. So, did the U.S. Marshals drag him in, or did the Court issue a bench warrant? No.

The judge decided to end the case right then and there.

Rather than prolong the proceedings with a manhunt, the court heard from the defense counsel and then immediately dismissed the Plaintiff’s case with prejudice as to the served defendants (and without prejudice as to the unserved defendants).

The final judgment filed shortly after orders that the plaintiff takes nothing and that the defendants recover the costs of the action. The court explicitly noted that it will issue no further order and closed the file. While Mr. Cunningham may have avoided being handcuffed in the courtroom, this was a total loss on the merits for him. By failing to appear, he not only forfeited his claims but was hit with a final judgment ordering that he recover absolutely nothing from the defendants.

It remains to be seen if the defendants will pursue collection on the tens of thousands of dollars in sanctions previously awarded, but for now, the active litigation—and the immediate threat of a jail cell—has ended.

While the case is dismissed, the monetary judgments for sanctions previously entered against Mr. Cunningham remains on the record. Based on the court’s orders, Mr. Cunningham is legally obligated to pay substantial sums to the parties he sued. He owes the “MJ Ministries” defendants—specifically MJ Ministries Spreading the Gospel, Inc., Steven Sledge, Aaron Jordan, Naomi Cook, Luther McKinstry, and Warren Taylor—a significant amount. This debt includes $11,467.50 for the initial attorneys’ fees sanctions ordered in November 2024, another $6,887.00 for additional attorneys’ fees ordered in April 2025, $10.49 for costs, and a $2,500.00 flat penalty for intentional noncompliance with court orders. Additionally, the Court ordered a $300.00 per day penalty starting April 7, 2025, until he purged himself of contempt. Since he never purged himself before the case was closed on May 19, approximately 42 days later, this amount likely accrued to an estimated $12,600.00, bringing the total owed to the MJ Ministries defendants to approximately $33,464.99.

Cunningham also owes the “Serving Hands” defendants—specifically Serving Hands Community Development Corporation, Frank Juliano, Jesse Spencer, and Jonathan Foreman—an additional sum. The Court awarded them $1,325.00 for attorneys’ fees in February 2025 after they joined the motion for sanctions.

So, when combined with the amounts owed to the other defendants, Mr. Cunningham walked away with around $35,000 owed to the people he sued.

For now, this looks like the end of this saga, but if we hear about collection, we will certainly let TCPAWorld know!