Mayor & City Council of Baltimore v. Hanover Armory, LLC

The trial against Maryland’s largest ghost gun dealer concluded with a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs for $62 million. This is the largest ever verdict a gun dealer defendant has been dealt in American history and approximately ten times the amount of the second largest verdict.

The plaintiffs alleged that firearm retailer Hanover Armory flooded the city with ghost guns that increased violent crime and posed a potent threat to Baltimore residents’ health and safety. Ghost guns are un-serialized, untraceable firearms often sold as kits without ID checks or background checks. The City sought an award from Hanover Armory, which the jury determined amounted to $62 million.

The $62 million verdict, once obtained, will flow into an abatement fund managed by the City of Baltimore that will be distributed to three community violence intervention groups.

According to the complaint in this case and illustrated in trial, between 2019 and 2022, ghost gun recoveries in Baltimore increased by nearly 1500%, with many of the recovered firearms linked to shootings, homicides, and youth-involved crimes. Ghost gun kits appeal to prohibited purchasers such as children, convicted felons, domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and other at-risk individuals unable to obtain guns legally.

Read more about the case:

• Baltimore Awarded $62 Million in Ghost Gun Lawsuit Against Arms Dealer, The Washington Post (August 31, 2025).
• Baltimore Scores Big Win with $62 Million Verdict Against Maryland Ghost Gun Retailer, CBS News (August 28, 2025).
• Baltimore Officials Applaud Historic $62M Ruling Against Dealer Accused of Selling Ghost Guns, The Baltimore Sun (August 28, 2025).
• Jury Awards $62M to Baltimore in Lawsuit Against Firearms Dealer Over Sale of Ghost Guns, The Baltimore Banner (August 27, 2025).

Berger Montague is one of the nation’s preeminent law firms focusing on complex civil litigation, class actions, and mass torts in federal and state courts throughout the United States. With more than $2.4 billion in 2025 post-trial judgments alone, the Firm is a leader in the fields of complex litigation, antitrust, consumer protection, defective products, environmental law, employment law, securities, and whistleblower cases, among many other practice areas. For over 55 years, Berger Montague has played leading roles in precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented. Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago; Malvern, PA; Minneapolis; San Diego; San Francisco; Toronto, Canada; Washington, D.C., and Wilmington, DE.