Master Lock 140 Padlocks Not as Pick-Resistant as Advertised, Class Action Suit Claims

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A proposed class action lawsuit accuses Master Lock Company of falsely representing that its Master Lock 140 padlocks are pick-resistant, given that the locks can apparently be opened easily with relatively simple lockpicking tools.

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According to the 30-page false advertising lawsuit, Master Lock Company, an established consumer padlock brand, advertises that its Master Lock 140 “pick resistant” padlocks contain a “4-pin cylinder” to prevent lockpicking. However, the case claims that the locks are plagued by a “critical” design defect that renders them “shockingly” easy to pick.

“Ironically, in fact, Defendants’ Products serve as great starting practice padlocks for those wanting to learn how to pick locks because of how easy it is to pick them,” the filing says.

The suit explains that padlocks operate using a pin system with driver pins, which maintain downward pressure on the key pins, and key pins, which correspond to a particular key. When the correct key is placed in a lock’s plug, it moves both sets of pins below the “shear line,” where the driver and key pins meet, and allows the barrel to rotate and release the lock’s shackle, the case relays.

However, the filing says that the design for Master Lock 140 padlocks is “deeply flawed,” as the locks are made with a deeper-than-necessary chamber for the driver and key pins, wide enough for a standard comb pick without any resistance.

As a result, “easily available” lock-picking tools, such as a comb pick, can be slid effortlessly into the plug, and even minor upward pressure lifts the pins over the shear line, “circumventing” the need for a key to open the lock, the complaint states. Indeed, the case says that this lock-picking method can be learned with “minimal practice.”

“In other words, [Master Lock Company’s] products are not pick resistant in the slightest,” the lawsuit emphasizes.

Notably, the filing relays that counsel for the plaintiffs purchased a Master Lock 140D and a comb pick while researching the case, and was able to successfully learn the lock-picking technique in less than 10 minutes. Per the complaint, this technique was “nearly as fast” as using a key, and advertising the padlocks as pick-resistant is “blatantly” misleading.

The lawsuit says that Master Lock Company represents that its padlocks are a four out of 10 on an ad hoc pick resistance scale, but given that the locks fail to stymy even basic lockpicking attempts, the locks’ performance could be more fairly characterized as a zero out of 10.

Reasonable consumers, the case argues, would understand the brand’s representations to mean that the locks would provide some measure of pick resistance, but did not receive the benefit of their bargain.

The Master Lock Company class action lawsuit looks to cover all individuals in the United States who purchased the Master Lock 140 padlocks for personal use during the applicable statutory period.

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