Lawsuit says Master Lock pick-resistant padlocks fall to a $2 comb pick
Master Lock’s “pick-resistant” 140 series is accused of falling to a $2 comb pick, and the complaint says counsel learned the trick in under 10 minutes.
A padlock sold as “pick-resistant” can still collapse under a cheap comb pick in seconds, and that gap between marketing language and real attack methods is now at the center of a federal false advertising suit against Master Lock Company, LLC. The case, filed May 15, 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California as case No. 3:26-cv-03801, says Master Lock’s 140 line sells the promise of security without the kind of resistance lockpickers actually test.
The complaint targets the Master Lock 140 family, including the 140D, 140Q, 140T, 140DLF, and 140KAD. Master Lock’s own product pages say the 140D has a “four pin cylinder” that “helps prevent picking” and “provides resistance against prying and hammering.” The lawsuit says that language oversells the lock’s real-world performance, because a simple comb pick can allegedly open the padlocks with minimal practice.
That distinction matters in the lockpicking world. Traditional picking tries to set individual pins and feel for binding order, while a comb pick works more like a bypass against the pin stack, pushing the driver pins to the sheer line in one movement instead of solving the lock in the usual way. In other words, a lock can look respectable on paper with a four-pin cylinder and still be exposed to a fast, low-skill attack that has nothing to do with careful pin work. The complaint reportedly says plaintiffs’ counsel bought a Master Lock 140D and a comb pick, then learned the method in under 10 minutes.
The vulnerability is not new to the community. LockPickingLawyer showed Master Lock puck locks being comb picked in seconds in a November 2020 video, and later videos kept putting similar Master Lock products under the same light. For buyers, reviewers, and manufacturers, the lawsuit draws a sharp line between resisting traditional picking and resisting bypass. A lock can be marketed as “pick-resistant” and still fail the moment a $2 comb pick hits the plug, which is exactly the kind of mismatch this case puts on trial.
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