Jury awards more than $104M in lawsuit over ghost gun used in Louisville teen's death by suicide

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Kentucky jury awarded more than $104 million in what advocates call the largest verdict ever against a gun dealer.

Louisville mother Laura Herp sued online ghost gun seller Husky Armory and its parent company after her 18-year-old son, Henry Willis, died by suicide three years ago.

Herp's attorneys argued the company sold Willis a gun-building kit without a federal license and no background check. There was only a check box for age verification.

Just days after the kit arrived, Willis used the gun he built to take his own life.

"I just wish I could have had more time with Henry to help him heal," Herp said. "Husky Armory robbed our family of the time we needed to help him in his darkest moments. I firmly believe my son would be alive today if Husky Armory had not sold him that ghost gun."

According to the lawsuit, Willis received an 80% build kit, meaning it was 80% assembled with 100% of the parts included.

A couple screws later, Willis had a fully operable pistol. The family's attorney said Husky sold the kit online without checking his age or criminal record. Both checks would've disqualified him. All Willis had to do was check a box saying he was 21.

"Traditionally, these unfinished components weren't legally classified as firearms under federal law, allowing them to be sold without background checks or serial numbers," Husky Armory says on its website. "Using readily available tools, individuals could complete these components and assemble functional firearms without any government oversight."

In Kentucky, the teenage firearm suicide rate is 82.5% higher than the national average, according to Everytown Law.

"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," Dana Mulhauser, deputy director of affirmative litigation at Everytown Law, said in a news release Thursday. "The jury recognized that Husky Armory’s actions – selling a ghost gun to an underage teenager in the midst of a mental health crisis – had devastating, real-world consequences. It is well documented that putting time and space between a person in crisis and a firearm saves lives. Henry should be home with his family today, and Laura deserved more time and opportunity to help her son heal."