The main Dorrance Publishing lawsuit is Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc., a proposed class action filed in May 2022 in federal court in New Jersey that accuses the Pittsburgh-based vanity press of concealing book sales figures from authors and withholding royalties. A separate suit by author Jeff Baoliang Zhang was dismissed, and a third dispute settled quietly at the federal Copyright Claims Board. The Lockhart case remained unresolved as of mid-2026.
The Lockhart Class Action
Tina M. Lockhart, a New Jersey author, filed her complaint on May 19, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey (Case No. 3:22-cv-02929).1ClassAction.org. Class Action Alleges Dorrance Publishing Fails to Disclose True Book Sales Numbers to Authors The suit alleges violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, breach of contract, and fraud, and claims Dorrance has a “historical pattern and practice” of misrepresenting and concealing how many books it actually sells for its authors.
Lockhart paid Dorrance $8,000 in April 2008 to publish her novel Ten Houses Filled with Leaves. Under her contract, Dorrance kept 60% of domestic revenue and 75% of international revenue, with royalties due twice a year.2ClassAction.org. Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Company, Class Action Complaint Between 2008 and 2015, Dorrance reported selling nine copies and paid her a total of $10.20. The contract was terminated in 2015.
In the fall of 2019, Lockhart says she found her book still listed on Amazon and pulled data through Amazon’s Author Central showing that more than 51,000 copies had sold in a single four-week window from April 9 to May 6, 2012.2ClassAction.org. Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Company, Class Action Complaint At the book’s $11.00 price, that stretch alone would have produced roughly $562,000 in revenue. She alleges she is personally owed nearly $225,000 in unpaid royalties.1ClassAction.org. Class Action Alleges Dorrance Publishing Fails to Disclose True Book Sales Numbers to Authors
Before suing, Lockhart filed a consumer complaint in early 2020 with the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Dorrance responded by email in July 2020, confirming publication and termination and repeating the $10.20 royalty figure. The company declined voluntary mediation and produced no sales data. The Bureau closed the file that September.2ClassAction.org. Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Company, Class Action Complaint
The proposed class covers everyone in the United States who signed a publishing contract with Dorrance or any of its affiliate imprints and was owed commissions from book sales in the previous six years that the publisher allegedly failed to pay. The named affiliates are I-Proclaim Books, Red Lead Press, Rose Dog Books, and Whitmore Publishing Company.1ClassAction.org. Class Action Alleges Dorrance Publishing Fails to Disclose True Book Sales Numbers to Authors
Where the Lockhart Case Stands
On January 10, 2023, Chief District Judge Freda L. Wolfson granted Dorrance’s motion to dismiss, ruling that Lockhart’s claims were time-barred under the six-year statute of limitations for New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claims because the contract ended in 2015 and the suit was not filed until 2022. The court did not reach the merits of the fraud allegations and gave Lockhart 30 days to amend.3vLex. Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Co.
The case was reopened on May 8, 2023 after an amended complaint was filed, and it continued through 2024 and 2025. As of June 2026, the docket carried a termination date of May 22, 2026, but the matter was not fully closed. On June 3, 2026, Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni entered an order noting that Lockhart’s attorney intended to withdraw, and said a case management conference would be scheduled once representation was resolved.4PACER Monitor. Lockhart v. Dorrance Publishing Company, Inc. No class has been certified, and no settlement has been announced.
The Zhang Lawsuit
Author Jeff Baoliang Zhang sued Dorrance in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania in February 2022, alleging breach of contract and fraud and seeking $50 million.5GovInfo. Zhang v. Dorrance Publishing Co., Report and Recommendation Representing himself, Zhang argued the publishing agreement was “fake.” After an October 2022 evidentiary hearing, Judge Mary McGinley found the contract valid and ordered Zhang to bring his disputes through binding arbitration with the American Arbitration Association, as the contract required.
Zhang later refiled in federal court in the Western District of Pennsylvania (Case No. 2:24-cv-00440). On March 7, 2025, Judge Nora Barry Fischer dismissed the case with prejudice, adopting a magistrate judge’s recommendation that the claims were barred by res judicata because the state court had already ruled on the contract’s validity, and that they were also time-barred.6PACER Monitor. Zhang v. Dorrance Publishing Co. et al5GovInfo. Zhang v. Dorrance Publishing Co., Report and Recommendation
A Copyright Claims Board Settlement
At least one other author’s dispute with Dorrance was resolved through the federal Copyright Claims Board. In Docket #22-CCB-0113, an author alleged Dorrance kept selling their book after the publishing contract was terminated. Dorrance settled the case, and it was dismissed with prejudice. The settlement terms were not disclosed.7Writer Beware. To CCB or Not to CCB: The Question Is Still Out
Better Business Bureau Complaints
The Lockhart complaint pointed to nearly 70 Better Business Bureau complaints filed against Dorrance in the three years before the suit, many centered on the company’s failure to provide accurate sales data.1ClassAction.org. Class Action Alleges Dorrance Publishing Fails to Disclose True Book Sales Numbers to Authors BBB records show related grievances: communication breakdowns, missed deadlines, printing errors, and disputes over paid add-on services. Authors often seek refunds; Dorrance has typically declined cash refunds and offered extra book copies or promotional items instead.8Better Business Bureau. Dorrance Publishing Company Inc. Complaints
How Dorrance’s Business Model Fits In
Dorrance is a fee-based publisher, not a traditional one. Authors pay the company to handle editing, design, printing, binding, and limited promotion; fees are not published, but BBB complaints and court filings reference amounts from roughly $6,000 to $19,000, with interest-free payment plans of up to 24 installments.9Dorrance Publishing. Dorrance Publishing FAQ Authors then earn a percentage of the retail price on each copy sold, which is where the royalty accounting disputes at the heart of the Lockhart case arise.
The company’s own FAQ tells prospective authors to expect to lose money: “You should proceed with Dorrance because you want to see your work in print, not because of expectation of sales,” and “self-published books do not earn enough from sales to recoup the expense of publishing.”9Dorrance Publishing. Dorrance Publishing FAQ The affiliate imprints named in the Lockhart class definition — Whitmore Publishing, Rose Dog Books, Red Lead Press, and I-Proclaim Books — share the same operations and the same fee-based model.1ClassAction.org. Class Action Alleges Dorrance Publishing Fails to Disclose True Book Sales Numbers to Authors
If you signed a contract with Dorrance or one of those imprints and believe you were underpaid, the Lockhart docket is the case to watch; whether a class is ever certified and who it would cover depends on how the amended complaint moves forward once Lockhart’s representation is resolved.