Baltimore’s expanding campaign of lawsuits against major companies has produced a mix of setbacks, settlements and unresolved questions about what the legal strategy costs residents. The city has sued businesses over alleged roles in issues including plastic pollution, opioid addiction and gun violence. More recently, it has challenged companies connected to online prediction markets and Elon Musk’s artificial-intelligence products. The cases seek not only compensation for alleged harms but, in some instances, changes in corporate practices. Several prominent cases have had mixed outcomes. Maryland’s highest court overturned a $152 million verdict against pharmaceutical distributors in an opioid case this year and rejected Baltimore’s climate lawsuit against major oil companies. A case alleging corporate contributions to plastic pollution was dismissed. A jury’s $62 million verdict against a gun dealer ended in a $2 million settlement. Those results make it difficult to assess the campaign’s financial return. Public records requests sought information from city officials on spending for these and other cases over the preceding two years, but the requests had not been fulfilled by the time of publication. As a result, the city’s total legal costs and money collected during that period were not clear. The unanswered accounting questions matter because litigation can consume public resources even when it aims to hold powerful companies responsible. Baltimore residents still lack a full picture of what the city has spent, what it has recovered and what tangible benefits the cases have delivered to the community.