Plan B Forum

Marin man loses appellate ruling in motorcycle erection lawsuit

By Gary Klien The Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 11/28/2015 09:52:35 AM PST# Comments | Updated: 18 min. ago


A Sausalito man who lost a lawsuit over an erection has had his hopes for justice deflated once again.

A state appeals court in San Francisco affirmed an earlier judgment against Henry Wolf in a 2012 suit he brought against two motorcycling companies.

Wolf claimed he suffered an acute case of priapism -- a painfully prolonged erection -- after riding his 1993 BMW motorcycle for two hours. He claimed the vibrations in the "ridge-like" motorcycle seat caused the condition that lasted several days, so he sued BMW North America and the seat manufacturer, Corbin-Pacific Inc. The lawsuit claimed product liability, negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. Wolf said he was forced to seek treatment at Marin General Hospital and then with other specialists.

On Tuesday -- in a 14-page decision laced with medical language about Doppler ultrasounds, tumescence and aspiration of the corposa cavernosa -- a three-judge 1st District Court of Appeal panel affirmed a San Francisco Superior Court decision to dismiss the case.

The judges found that Wolf's appeal "fails to comply with the rules of appellate procedure" by failing to cite the relevant cases or statutes, and it "contains no intelligible argument." The panel ordered Wolf to pay the defendants' costs on appeal, a sum likely to be many tens of thousands of dollars.

"My client's very pleased with the result," said Christian Scheley of the Clapp Moroney firm, which represented Corbin-Pacific. "It's been a very long journey and saga, but justice has prevailed."

Paul Riehle, who represented BMW North America for Sedgwick LLP, declined to comment.

Neither Wolf nor his lawyer, Andrew Martin of San Anselmo, could be reached for comment.

The Sausalito lawyer who originally filed Wolf's lawsuit, Vernon Lester Bradley, was suspended from the bar in 2013 over allegations he misappropriated more than $100,000 in client funds for a Tiburon real estate project. Bradley, who was in his 70s, died of natural causes in May. ------ (c)2015 The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) Visit The Marin Independent Journal (Novato, Calif.) at http://www.marinij.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. AMX-2015-11-27T23:20:00-05:00

Cable Car Accident Victim Who Sued SF Muni After Developing Nymphomania Now Subject Of Local Musical



SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — One of the City’s most bizarre sex scandals involving a devout Lutheran girl-turned-nymphomaniac is now a musical.

“I first found the idea for the piece doing a web search for San Francisco sex scandals,” says associate producer Tony Asaro. “When I read it I thought, ‘That is a musical.’”

Asaro is referring to a 1964 accident that left a Muni cable car passenger with some bumps and bruises — and an insatiable appetite for sex.

Gloria Sykes, 23, reportedly hit her head on a pole when a mechanical problem caused the Hyde Street cable car to slide backwards down the hill. Sykes later sued Muni and the City of San Francisco for $500,000 claiming she had suffered from mental trauma and uncontrollable sex urges.

The victim’s attorney, Marvin Lewis, said his client had intercourse with over 100 men following the incident — 50 of them in one week, according to newspaper accounts. Her lawyers told jurors that the sexual abuse she suffered as a child coupled with the trauma of the accident had caused her to seek comfort in men. Sykes was awarded a $50,000 settlement.