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. Harold Morris’ Harley-Davidson three-wheeler motorcycle after it crashed on June 6, 2020, in Pennsylvania, seriously injuring Morris and killing his girlfriend, Pamela SinClair.
This month, a jury in Livingston County, New York, 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.
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