Last updated November 2026 · By Nick Hall, tracks federal and state firearms policy daily for USA Gun Shop readers
Quick take: Delaware lost its ghost gun case in September and now wants the judge to take the loss back. On November 12 the plaintiffs told the court the State is relitigating, and that its new safe-harbor law still leaves home building banned outright.
- What happened: The plaintiffs in Rigby v. Jennings filed their brief opposing Delaware’s motion to alter or amend the September 10 judgment.
- Why it matters: If Judge Maryellen Noreika grants the State’s motion, the injunction against Delaware’s possession and manufacturing bans goes away.
- What’s next: The State gets a reply brief, then the judge rules, and a stayed Third Circuit appeal is waiting behind it.
- Who to watch: Attorney General Kathy Jennings, Judge Noreika and the Firearms Policy Coalition, which is a plaintiff alongside John Rigby and Alan Knight.
Nothing changed for Delaware gun owners on November 12. The injunction from September still stands, and a brief is only a brief. But this fight decides whether that win survives the trip back through the same courtroom, so we pulled both sides’ filings to see what each one actually says.
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Table of Contents
Why Delaware Wants the Ghost Gun Ruling Back
Quick recap. On September 10, Judge Noreika enjoined four pieces of Delaware law: the ban on possessing an unserialized unfinished frame or receiver, the ban on possessing an untraceable firearm, the ban on manufacturing one, and the ban on using a 3D printer to make a gun or major component without a manufacturer’s license. We covered that ruling when it landed in Delaware’s ghost gun bans struck down, and the sales rules survived it.
On October 8, the State filed a Rule 59(e) motion asking the court to dissolve the injunction and uphold sections 1459A and 1463 of Title 11 in full. Its opening brief leans on two events from the week before the ruling. The Third Circuit decided United States v. Berger on September 1, and the governor signed House Bill 418 on September 3.
Delaware says H.B. 418 “directly addresses the reasoning underlying the Court’s injunction” by giving owners a six-month grace period to serialize or relinquish under “a clear and objective process.” The State also argues that leaving the injunction in place risks “inviting the continued surge of ghost guns in local communities.”
The State had a hook in the opinion itself. Judge Noreika wrote that “had Delaware implemented a serialization process that required all currently owned self-manufactured firearms to be serialized with the state, that might pass constitutional muster.” Delaware’s pitch is simple: we just did that.
What H.B. 418 Actually Changes
The new law lets a person who lawfully possessed an unserialized gun or unfinished frame or receiver before the effective date keep it, but only if within six months they have it serialized by a federally licensed dealer or manufacturer, or render it permanently inoperable. New residents who bought one in another state get the same six months from the day they establish residency.
That is a real change for people who already own a home-built gun. It is not a change for anyone who wants to build one next month. According to the plaintiffs’ brief, “Delaware still flatly prohibits persons from manufacturing their own firearms,” and the safe harbor only reaches guns owned as of September 3, 2026.
And the 3D printer ban sits apart from serialization entirely. Section 1463(c)(1) bars an unlicensed person from printing a firearm, receiver or major component whether or not a serial number ever goes on it. If you care about 3D printing and guns, that is the provision to watch.
The Plaintiffs’ Answer, Filed November 12
The opposition brief, filed as Document 93 by Cooper & Kirk and Delaware counsel Bradley Lehman, opens by reminding the court that Rule 59(e) has an “extremely limited” purpose. It is for clear errors and newly discovered evidence, not for rearguing a case you lost.
Their core point is that the State “defends a statute that does not exist.” Delaware describes its law as a minimal serialization requirement, but the plaintiffs say there is still no way for someone, today, to self-manufacture a new firearm, even if he serializes it immediately. “A blanket prohibition with no path to compliance” is not the kind of light paperwork Berger blessed for suppressors.
They also say the case is not moot, because Rigby and Knight already gave up the guns and parts the law covered. The safe harbor protects people who retained possession, so it does nothing for two men who already gave theirs up.
On the State’s argument that unserialized guns are a criminal favorite, the brief is blunt: “But the test is common use, not criminal use.” That tracks the September opinion, which said most guns are used by criminals to some degree and that this “does not relieve them of constitutional protection.”
What This Filing Does Not Do
It does not change the law on the ground. The injunction stays in force unless and until Judge Noreika grants the State’s motion, and the distribution and sales rules she upheld in September stay in force too. Check Delaware gun laws before you buy, build or move anything across the state line.
There is also a parked appeal. The plaintiffs filed a protective notice of appeal on October 12, docketed in the Third Circuit as No. 26-3575, and the Third Circuit stayed it on October 13 pending the Rule 59(e) motion. Whoever loses the motion is likely headed to Philadelphia anyway.
The State still gets a reply brief before the judge decides, and no hearing date shows on the docket. I do not expect Judge Noreika to reverse herself on a manufacturing ban that H.B. 418 never touched. The possession question is closer, because the State did build roughly the process she described.
Same judge. Same statute, mostly. One new law that fixes the part she flagged and leaves alone the part she struck hardest.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are ghost guns legal in Delaware right now?
Possessing and building unserialized guns is covered by a federal court injunction that Judge Maryellen Noreika issued on September 10, 2026 in Rigby v. Jennings, so the State cannot enforce those bans for now. Delaware's rules on selling and transferring unfinished frames and receivers were upheld and still apply. Check the current docket before relying on either point.
What is a Rule 59(e) motion?
It is a request under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure asking the same trial judge to alter or amend a judgment. Courts grant it sparingly, mostly to fix a clear error of law or fact or to account for newly discovered evidence, not to reargue the case.
What does Delaware House Bill 418 do?
H.B. 418, signed September 3, 2026, gives people who lawfully possessed an unserialized firearm or unfinished frame or receiver before it took effect six months to have it serialized by a federally licensed dealer or manufacturer, or to make it permanently inoperable. New residents get six months from the day they establish residency.
Does H.B. 418 let Delaware residents build new guns at home?
No. The plaintiffs point out that Delaware still bans manufacturing an untraceable firearm and bans unlicensed 3D printing of guns and major components, and H.B. 418 does not create a way to build a new gun and serialize it afterward.
Who are the plaintiffs in Rigby v. Jennings?
John Rigby, Alan Knight and the Firearms Policy Coalition. The defendant is Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings. The case is No. 1:21-cv-01523-MN in the US District Court for the District of Delaware and was filed in October 2021.
What was the Berger decision the State relies on?
United States v. Berger is a Third Circuit decision from September 1, 2026 that upheld the federal machine gun ban and the federal registration requirement for suppressors. Delaware argues it shows that serialization rules are an incidental burden, and the plaintiffs answer that Delaware's law is a ban, not a serialization rule.
Is there an appeal in the Delaware ghost gun case?
Yes, but it is on hold. The plaintiffs filed a protective notice of appeal on October 12, 2026, docketed in the Third Circuit as No. 26-3575, and the Third Circuit stayed it on October 13 until the district court rules on the State's Rule 59(e) motion.
Related Reading
- Delaware Ghost Gun Bans Struck Down, Sales Rules Survive
- Delaware Gun Laws: Purchase Permit, Assault Weapons and Carry Rules
- Ninth Circuit Rejects a Wider ATF Ghost Gun Rule
- 3D Printed Guns: Laws, Tech and History
- How to Build a DIY Glock 19 From an 80% Frame
- US Gun Laws by State: A Legal Directory
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