A jury of Livingston County, New York citizens has found Harley-Davidson liable in a case centered on the company’s recalled 2019 and 2020 trike models.
The trial, which began in May, followed a civil lawsuit that was filed in 2021 in Geneseo, New York by Harrold Morris.
In February 2019, Morris was riding his 2019 Harley-Davidson Trike-Tri Glide Ultra motorcycle when it “suddenly, inexplicably, unexpectedly and without warning malfunctioned and failed,” according to the lawsuit.
The trike’s brakes locked, causing it to swerve into the opposite lane of the road and down an embankment. Morris and his girlfriend, Pamela Sinclair, suffered minor injuries in this crash.
Following this accident, which occurred prior to any formal recall, Morris had his trike repaired and inspected at Stan’s Harley-Davidson in Genesee County, New York.
Morris and Sinclair were involved in another crash in June 2020, during which Morris alleges his bike once again malfunctioned. That crash left him with life-threatening injuries and killed Sinclair. This crash did occur after Harley issued a recall notice related to Morris’ trike.
A formal recall notice was submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in November 2019. That report estimated that 1% of the 12,624 trike models built between 2019 and 2020 could be impacted by faulty traction control system software.
“The Trike Traction Control System software used on the subject motorcycles may respond incorrectly to a faulty rear wheel speed signal by activating one of the rear brakes,” according to a submitted description of the defect.
The manufacturer of the component was Farmington Hills, Michigan-based Robert Bosch LLC.
The 2019 lawsuit argued that both Harley-Davidson and Robert Bosch were “negligent in failing to timely, adequately and properly notify, warn, and instruct consumers and members of the public” about the motorcycle product defect and recall.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision and will be looking to appeal,” said a spokesperson for Harley-Davidson on Friday.
The amount in punitive damages Morris will receive had not been determined as of Friday morning.
