Jury says Harley-Davidson must pay $287M for crash that killed WNY woman, injured boyfriend (2024)

For about 30 years, Harold Morris loved riding motorcycles all over the United States.

He rode a Harley-Davidson all over Western New York, rode to California and back three times, and proudly served as president of the Harley Owners Group – better known as the HOGS club – in Batavia.

But a horrific accident on June 6, 2020 near the New York-Pennsylvania border changed all that. Morris was seriously injured, and his partner and housemate, Pamela SinClair, was killed.

Morris and SinClair’s estate sued Harley-Davidson, blaming a defect in the Harley’s traction control system for the crash.

This month, a jury in Livingston County found Harley responsible for the tragedy and on Tuesday awarded Morris and SinClair's estate a total of $287 million in damages. That includes $240 million in punitive damages against the world famous motorcycle maker.

Morris' lawyers said they are certain the $287 million is among the largest – if not the largest – awards ever in a product liability case in Western New York.

“The money is great, don’t get me wrong,” Morris told The Buffalo News on Friday. “But the main reason for the lawsuit was that we wanted to hold Harley-Davidson responsible. I would not want any other Harley owner to go through what I have over the past four years.”

Morris, 79, is a retired Kodak employee who lives in Caledonia, near Batavia. SinClair, who died at age 62, was also a retired Kodak worker.

They were riding a Harley three-wheel motorcycle when it veered off the road and crashed in Hamlin Township, Pa., about 35 miles southeast of Olean.

The attorneys who filed the lawsuit, Paul Edelstein and Daniel Thomas, told The News they believe jurors were trying to send Harley-Davidson a message with an extraordinarily high punitive damages award.

“This was a product liability case. We presented evidence showing a lack of accountability from Harley from beginning to end,” Edelstein said. “We showed that they took shortcuts to get their three-wheeler out to the public, and that they were not really honest with the public about problems with the vehicle.”

Harley’s attorneys disputed those accusations during the trial in Geneseo, raising questions about Morris’s driving abilities.

Based in Milwaukee, the 121-year-old motorcycle company did not respond to emails or a phone message from The News on Thursday and Friday.

Mark Kircher, the lead attorney for Harley during the trial, spoke briefly to a reporter Friday.

“All I am authorized to tell you is that Harley-Davidson respectfully disagrees with the verdict and is planning to appeal,” Kircher said.

Started in 1903 in a small shed in Milwaukee, Harley makes some of the world’s most popular motorcycles. The company runs a safety training academy for its customers and calls itself “the most desirable motorcycle and lifestyle brand in the world.”

Based on a survey of 25,000 American consumers, Newsweek magazine earlier this year named Harley as one of “the most trusted companies in America.”

“We knew what we were up against. People have such much faith and trust in this company that they get the Harley-Davidson logo tattooed onto their bodies,” said Thomas, the attorney.

According to court papers, Morris drove a three-wheeled 2019 Harley Tri Glide, which he said he purchased new for just under $40,000.

The accident that killed SinClair was the second Morris had on the Harley three-wheeler.

On Feb. 18, 2019, Morris and SinClair were both injured when one of the three-wheeler’s back wheels suddenly braked, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and crash into a wooded area in LaBelle, Fla.

“We were riding on a straight, clear highway when the bike suddenly veered to the left. We went off the road, the Harley flipped over and both of us were thrown off the bike,” Morris told The News. “Pam was hurt worse than me. She broke her hand and ankle.”

Shortly after the Florida accident, Morris received a recall notice from Harley regarding the three wheeler’s traction control software system, attorneys for Morris and SinClair’s estate said.

“The recall came after Harley customers around the country complained of similar issues with their trikes’ software. Mr. Morris had the vehicle serviced and Harley assured him it was safe to operate. The second, fatal accident occurred only months later,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said.

The attorneys said that Morris did not sue Harley after the first accident, but asked the company to reimburse him and SinClair for about $160,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses.

Harley refused, maintaining that the first accident had nothing to do with the problem that led to the recall, the two attorneys said.

“Harley’s representative assured me that the bike had been fixed, and that it was safe and there would be no further problems,” Morris told The News. “I believed them. I trusted Harley.”

During the trial, Morris testified that he remembered nothing about the accident that killed SinClair.

“I remember nothing about the accident, and I don’t remember anything that happened until about 10 weeks later, when I was in a rehab facility and they told me there that Pam was dead,” Morris told The News. “I was shocked. Pam was a kind, sweet person ... a wonderful partner, mother, sister and grandmother.”

During opening arguments July 23, Harley’s lead attorney, Kircher, raised questions about Morris’ skill as a motorcycle driver. Kircher told jurors that Morris was an experienced rider of two-wheel motorcycles, but was “relatively new” to riding three-wheelers when he had his two accidents.

Steering a three-wheeled Harley is “much different” than steering a two-wheeler, Kircher told the jury. He said the Harley model owned by Morris underwent extensive safety tests before it was sold to the public.

“Rider error is the predominant cause of single vehicle motorcycle accidents,” Kircher told the jury.

Edelstein and Thomas said they would prove that a problem with the trike’s traction system is what caused the two accidents.

A police report on the 2019 Florida accident lists a “brake” problem and “equipment failure” as causes. A police report on the fatal crash in Pennsylvania says the vehicle “swerved hard to the left and off the roadway,” but does not speculate on what caused that to happen.

“For over four years, Harley-Davidson has been claiming that both accidents were Harold’s fault, which we knew not to be true,” Edelstein said after the trial. “So, the first thing we had to do was exonerate Harold. The second thing was to make sure these horrific events would not happen to anyone else. The message this jury sent was super, super powerful. Companies putting out unsafe and dangerous products must and will be held accountable.”

Jurors agreed with the plaintiffs’ attorneys, finding Harley-Davidson responsible for SinClair’s death and Morris’ injuries. The jury awarded $120 million each in punitive damages to Morris and SinClair’s estate. Another $47 million was awarded for pain and suffering.

Chris O’Brien, an Amherst attorney who lectures students and lawyers all over the country about personal injury cases, said the jury’s award of punitive damages was very high.

“Those punitive damage awards could quite possibly be lowered later by the trial judge or an appeals court,” O’Brien said. “I would think that a jury awarding that much in punitives is trying to send a message to Harley ... that safety should be the first priority.”

Morris said he and SinClair had hoped to spend their retirement years traveling all over the country on their Harley, camping and viewing beautiful sights. He said that dream ended with SinClair’s death.

“I haven’t ridden a motorcycle since that second accident,” he said. “I have no plans to ever do it again."