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 hewas forced to seek treatment at Marin General Hospital and then with other specialists.
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.”
