700 CASES, 145 OSCS?: Gerald Lane Has Face 145 OSCs for Failure to Prosecute His Cases and I’m a Little Stunned

Editor’s note: This article has been edited to clarify Lane has not been sanctioned.

Gerald Lane is one of the most prolific filers of TCPA cases in the nation. He is also completely unable to keep up with his caseload apparently.

This has not gone unnoticed by the federal judiciary.

In Juarez v. The Gold Warehouse, 2:26-cv-03947 (C.D. Cal.) the Hon. Stanley Blumenfeld, Jr ordered Lane to provide a list of all cases in which he has been subject to an order to show cause (OSC) for failing to prosecute his cases:

Because more than 90 days had passed since Plaintiff filed this action and Plaintiff had taken no further action, the Court issued an order to show cause (OSC) re lack of prosecution. Dkt. No. 10. Plaintiff immediately responded by filing proof that Defendant was served on April 16, 2026, and its answer was due May 7, more than two months ago. Dkt. No. 11. Plaintiff has not sought entry of default. Although the filing of the proof of service automatically discharges the OSC by its own terms, the fact that Plaintiff waited more than two months after Defendant was in default without taking further action to prosecute the case is concerning. Moreover, Plaintiff’s counsel, Gerald Lane, appears to have filed more than 700 cases in this district in the last two years, and this is not the first time he has failed to prosecute a case assigned to this Court with the expected diligence. Accordingly, Lane is ordered no later than July 20, 2026 to file a declaration explaining in detail (1) the steps he has taken to prosecute this case, including an explanation for his failures to promptly file proof of service or to pursue default in the two months after Defendant failed to respond, (2) Lane’s procedures for ensuring that he diligently prosecutes all of the cases he files in this district, and (3) any prior OSCs re sanctions or for lack of prosecution, identifying each case in which he has been subject to an OSC, the nature of the OSC, and its outcome. 

This is a pretty extraordinary order and demonstrates the courts are not pleased with the volume of suits Lane has filed.

More extraordinary still was his response.

On July 20, 2026 Lane filed document 14-1 listing 145 OSCs he has been subject to in the C.D. California.

For non-litigators an OSC is an order to show cause. It basically means the court is pissed and you have one chance to explain why you should not be sanctioned.

Most litigators go years between OSCs so the fact Lane has been subject to 145 in just two years is truly extraordinary. In fact, having done no research on this, I would guess he has the most OSCs of anyone in the state– and that is not a good thing.

Despite all of these OSCs, however, it looks like Lane’s client was only sanctioned once– for $250.00. And even that sanctioned was vacated. Lane hasn’t been sanctioned at all as he pointed out to me today. Seems like the Courts have been overly forgiving here. That might be what Judge Blumenfeld is concerned with.

Very interesting story.

We’ll keep an eye on this.

And shout out to John Barbret who picked this up for me. We dove deep into this and other issues at the R.E.A.C.H. meeting on Friday. If you’re not a part of R.E.A.C.H. you are definitely missing out!

Speaking of missing out– YOU are missing out if you’re not watching Deserve to Win. Just got a note today reading: “your youtube videos are really well-made clean cuts, smooth pacing. keep up the awesome work bro!” Yeah, we’re awesome. Check out Episode 45 with Cyle Coffman right here, right now:

Chat soon.