Jury Awards $100 Million Verdict Against Ghost Gun Company in Teen’s Death
A groundbreaking legal decision has been reached as a Kentucky jury holds a ghost gun company accountable for over $100 million following the tragic death of a teenager. This verdict marks a significant legal precedent concerning the sale of gun-assembly kits to minors.
Husky Armory LLC, the company at the center of this lawsuit, was found liable for selling a pistol-building kit to 18-year-old Henry Willis. The jury’s decision on Wednesday highlighted the company’s non-compliance with federal regulations, which prohibit selling such kits to individuals under the age of 21.
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Willis’ family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit, revealing that Henry purchased a Glock G19 pistol build kit from the company’s website in 2023. Unbeknownst to his family, Henry assembled the gun in his garage, initially claiming it was a transistor radio, and tragically used it to take his own life shortly thereafter.
The legal team representing the Willis family, Everytown Law, announced that this $104.2 million verdict is the largest recorded against a gun dealer. This amount surpasses the $73 million settlement from Remington, the company involved in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting case (Read more).
The ruling follows the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold regulations set by the Biden administration, which require serial numbers on homemade weapons and mandate background checks and age verification (Learn more).
According to the lawsuit, Husky Armory promoted their kits as user-friendly, stating they included “everything you need to build your own Glock style pistol from the comfort of your home.” The advertising suggested that “nearly anyone with a brain” could assemble the weapon.
Attempts to contact Husky Armory LLC and its owner, Cody Yurk, for comments were unsuccessful. The company, based in Omaha, Nebraska, did not appear in court during the trial, the family and their attorneys reported.
Laura Herp, Henry’s mother, spoke at a news conference about her son’s struggles with mental health and criticized the accessibility of such weapons. “A child in crisis should never be able to access a deadly weapon,” she stated. “Companies like Husky Armory thrive off selling to folks who shouldn’t have access to firearms, and they didn’t care who Henry was.”
Earlier, a state court in Louisville issued a default judgment against Husky Armory for not responding to the lawsuit. The jury subsequently awarded $4.2 million in economic damages and $100 million in punitive damages.
Attorney Dana Mulhauser from Everytown Law commented on the verdict, stating, “This historic verdict sends a powerful message to ghost-gun sellers who set up businesses to profit by circumventing critical safeguards like background checks and age verification.”
