Verdict: Defendant.

Venue: Dauphin County, Pa.

Demand: $1,161,973.

Plaintiffs: James Anderson Jr. and the estateof Vickie Anderson.

Defendants: LeMans Corp., Pirelli Tire LLC, AGVLazer USA LLC, Susquehanna Valley Harley-Davidson.

Insurer: Zurich North America for SusquehannaValley Harley-Davidson.

Vickie Anderson, 48, was a passenger on a Harley-Davidson UltraClassic motorcycle driven by her husband, James Anderson Jr., whenthe rear tire blew out as they were traveling at 50 mph in NewYork. James lost control of the bike and Vickie Anderson was thrownfrom it. Despite being able to speak immediately after the crash(according to her husband), she later died from a skull fracture atthe hospital.

She was wearing a Harley-Davidson shorty, a half-faced helmetmanufactured by AGV Lazer USA. LeMans Corp. had imported thehelmet, which was purchased by Anderson in 2003, when JamesAnderson also purchased the bike.

In 2004, James Anderson had replaced the worn rear tire with atire that was ordered by Pirelli Tire LLC. At the time of theaccident, the tire had approximately 7,000 miles on it. JamesAnderson alleged that both the tire and helmet were defective, andfiled suit against Pirelli, Lazer, LeMans and SusquehannaHarley-Davidson under a theory of products liability that includeddesign and manufacturing defects, as well as a breach of impliedwarranty.

AGV Lazer and Harley-Davidson settled with Anderson's estateprior to the trial, but the parties remained and participated inthe trial.

According to James Anderson, he felt shaking on the bike andvibrations in the handlebars that morning, and saw a bulge on thesidewall. Approximately an hour before the 1 p.m. accident,Anderson noticed the same type of vibration and slowed down. Theplaintiffs' expert concluded that a defect occurred during thetire's manufacturing process and caused the tire to fail during thetrip.

The plaintiffs' expert on motorcycle helmets said that theshorty helmet was defective because it failed to provide adequateprotection and moved during impact to expose the back of Vickie'shead since it was not sized properly. (The plaintiff's attorneycontended that Susquehanna Valley failed to perform a roll-off testwhen it sold the helmet to Anderson. Such a test is not requiredfor helmet retailers in Pennsylvania.)

Pirelli's tire design expert indicated that the tire wasproperly manufactured, but that the blowout was caused byunder-inflation and too much weight on the tire since bothAndersons were on the bike at the time of the accident. Hemaintained that the vibration Anderson felt supported his theory.The defense's expert on motorcycle helmets indicated that thehelmet had also been correctly manufactured and offered sufficientprotection to the user.

Vickie Anderson worked as an office manager for a sporting goodsstore and her estate sought to recover future lost earnings of$1,154.975, funeral costs of $6,110.92 and past medical coststotaling $887.13.

After deliberating for 90 minutes the jury found in favor of thedefendants.

Related: The verdict's in: Chipotle's leaky roof leads toinjury