PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

One of the lawyer’s representing a defendant in a pending wrongful death claim against

Harley Davidson USA and others has moved to transfer the action from state court to the federal court in downtown Philadelphia.

Attorney Thomas J. Bradley, of the Philadelphia firm McBreen & Kopko, filed a Notice of Removal Nov. 9 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Philadelphia on behalf of client Max-Trac Tire Co.

The removal notice states that Max-Trac, which was incorrectly captioned as Avon Motorcycle Tyres North America in the recent state court filing, seeks to have the pending litigation transferred to the federal venue because the action could result in damages exceeding $75,000, (the jurisdictional limit in state court is $50,000), and due to the fact that diversity of citizenship exists among the parties.

Max-Trac Tire Co. Inc. is based in Ohio, while the plaintiff in the case, Leo Sides, resides in Drexel Hill, Pa.

Sides initiated his case on Oct. 11 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas.

Attorneys Fredric S. Eisenberg and Daniel J. Sherry, Jr., of the Philadelphia firm Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg & Jeck, P.C., filed what is known as a writ of summons on behalf of Sides, who is suing in his capacity as administrator of the estate of the late Christopher Sides.

The court filing does not disclose the specific relationship between the two.

The defendants’ removal notice, however, states that the civil action is believed to have arisen out of a motorcycle accident that claimed the life of Christopher Sides last year.

The filing says that the accident occurred in New Castle County, Delaware, back on Oct. 11, 2010.

Sides’ death from injuries sustained in that accident occurred months later, on March 24, 2011.

Because an official complaint has not been filed, details on the exact nature of the case were scarce.

The defendants listed in the writ of summons were as follows: Harley Davidson USA, Mike’s Famous Harley Davidson, Rommel Harley Davidson, Avon Motorcycle Tyres North America, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Limited, Big Dog Motorcycles LLC and BDM Performance Products.

In Pennsylvania, a writ of summons signals pending civil action.

 

The state case ID number is 121001511.

The federal case number is 2:12-cv-06330-JS.