Judge’s ruling in Lost v. Lady Gaga lawsuit poetically arriving on Turkey Day Eve

Mayhem on Mayhem with a side of mashed 'taters n gravy.

There has not been much activity in the Lost v. Lady Gaga lawsuit since my last article about the briefing in support of, and in opposition to, Lost’s motion for preliminary injunction back in June (read my original article about the significance and importance of that motion if you are not familiar). As previously explained, the judge did not decide to hold a hearing where oral arguments are made, but instead ruled that he would decide the motion based on the papers submitted.

In the interim, Judge Olguin has sat on this motion for an inordinate amount of time (he has a reputation for this) given that it has been over five months since the motion was fully briefed back in May and there still has been no ruling to date.

And though I still think that Lost will almost certainly lose this motion (read my article from back in June if you want to know why), I would be frustrated as hell if I were Matt Biolos in this situation. The entire basis for Lost’s lawsuit and motion for preliminary injunction is that Lady Gaga was on the precipice of embarking on a USA tour in July 2025 where her “Mayhem” clothing merchandise would be sold, which Lost claims infringes on its trademark.

In the interim, however, Lady Gaga has completed the American leg of her 2025 Mayhem Ball tour, playing nearly thirty dates in arenas across the country. If there were ever actually any threatened irreparable harm to Lost, it has already occurred. Olguin’s foot-dragging may very well be an indication that he intends to deny Lost’s motion, but then again, this merely could be Olguin doing Olguin things.

In any event, this delay has gone on for so long that it has resulted in something I’ve rarely seen before—a joint filing submitted by both sides on October 2nd requesting that Judge Olguin finally make a ruling.  Judge Olguin did not respond to that request until October 29th via a court minute order, which advised the parties that he would rule on the motion for preliminary injunction no later than November 26th.

For you international readers, that is the day before Thanksgiving in the United States, and when Olguin says “no later” than November 26th, there is a good chance that he will be waiting all the way until November 26th to issue his ruling. And I sincerely hope that is exactly what happens, because either Lady Gaga’s or Matt Biolos’s Thanksgiving holiday would be more than a bit ruined depending on which way Olguin rules.

I too, once had an important statement of decision be issued against my client on the eve of Thanksgiving. I still cooked a turducken the following day, but it was hard to appreciate the savory deliciousness of three different fowls in light of the bitter taste in my mouth.

You win some, you lose some—just make sure you get paid either way.

At any rate, once that ruling comes down, just call me the Ice Cream Man (underrated Van Halen song, btw), because you’ll get the scoop.