Yarchak v. Trek Bicycle Corp.

• Citation: 208 F.Supp.2d 470
• Decision Date: 25 June 2002
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 00-5540(JEI).
• Parties: Joseph M. YARCHAK, Plaintiff, v. TREK BICYCLE CORPORATION, Vetta U.S.A. Limited, Selle Italia, S.R.L., and Brunswick Corp., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey

208 F.Supp.2d 470

Joseph M. YARCHAK, Plaintiff, v. TREK BICYCLE CORPORATION, Vetta U.S.A. Limited, Selle Italia, S.R.L., and Brunswick Corp., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 00-5540(JEI).

United States District Court, D. New Jersey.

June 25, 2002.

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Stuart D. Fiel & Associates by Vincent Presto, Esq., Cherry Hill, NJ, for Plaintiff.

Post and Schell by Jay A. Gebauer, Esq., Voorhees, NJ, for Trek Bicycle Corp.

Garrigle and Palm by William A. Garrigle, Cherry Hill, NJ, for Vetta U.S.A., Ltd. Porzio, Bromberg & Newman by Jennifer Schettino, Esq., Morristown, NJ, for Selle Italia, S.R.L.

Greg Campisi, Esquire, Roseland, NJ, for Brunswick Corp.

OPINION

IRENAS, District Judge.

Plaintiff, a resident of Connecticut, initially filed the instant action against Trek Bicycle Corporation ("Trek"), a New Jersey-based company, in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Camden County, asserting claims for negligence (Count I), breach of express and implied warranty (Count II), and strict products liability (Count III) arising out of injuries allegedly sustained by Plaintiff while using a defective bicycle seat. Following Trek's filing of a third party complaint against Defendants Vetta USA, Selle Italia, and Brunswick Corporation, companies allegedly involved in the manufacture, assembly, design and distribution of the bicycle seat at issue, Plaintiff was granted leave to file an Amended Complaint asserting his claims directly against those three additional defendants.¹ The case was subsequently removed to this Court, which has jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1441 and 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Currently before the Court are Defendants Trek Bicycle Corporation, Vetta USA, and Selle Italia's respective motions for summary judgment.² Defendants Vetta USA and Selle Italia both seek summary judgment on the grounds that Plaintiff's claims for negligence (Count I) and strict products liability (Count III) are statutorily barred by the applicable statute of limitations. Defendant Vetta USA further moves for summary judgment on these claims on the grounds that there are no disputed issues of material fact regarding the company's lack of involvement in the manufacturing and/or selling of the allegedly defective product.³ Defendants Trek and Selle Italia also move for summary judgment of Plaintiff's strict products liability claim (Count III) on the grounds that the proffered testimony of Plaintiff's two expert witnesses is inadmissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and that, without such testimony, Plaintiff has failed, as a matter of law, to adduce sufficient proof to demonstrate a causal link between the allegedly offending bicycle seat and his injuries or that there is a danger associated with use of the bicycle seat about which Defendants had a duty to warn. Trek also moves for summary judgment on its third party claim for common law indemnification (Count II) against Co-defendant Selle Italia.⁴

For the reasons set forth below, the Court will enter summary judgment with respect to Plaintiff's claims for negligence and strict liability against Defendants Selle Italia and Vetta USA, as such claims are barred, as a matter of law, by New Jersey's two-year statute of limitations for personal injury actions. However, the Court will deny Defendant Trek's motions for summary judgment against Plaintiff and Co-defendant Selle Italia.

I.

"[S]ummary judgment is proper `if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law.'" Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986) (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)).

In deciding a motion for summary judgment, the Court must construe the facts and inferences in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Pollock v. American Tel. & Tel. Long Lines, 794 F.2d 860, 864 (3d Cir.1986). The role of the court is not "to weigh the evidence and determine the truth of the matter, but to determine whether there is a genuine issue for trial." Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 249, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). However, "a party opposing a properly supported motion for summary judgment may not rest upon the mere allegations or denials of his pleading, but ... must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Id. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citation omitted).

II.

Plaintiff, Joseph M. Yarchak, first joined the Willimantic, Connecticut Police Department in 1989. In 1995, he became a member of the police department's bicycle patrol unit. (Pl.'s Dep. at 166). From June/July 1995 through the Fall of 1998, Officer Yarchak rode with the bicycle patrol unit approximately 10 to 12 miles per day, 5 days per week, for approximately 7 to 8 months a year. (Id. at 62, 64). The bicycle Officer Yarchak rode was equipped with a "Trek" seat from the time of its purchase until some point after February of 1998, when Officer Yarchack replaced the original seat with a "Biko" seat. (Id. at 49, 174).⁵ Within a few months of beginning bicycle patrols in 1995, Officer Yarchak began regularly experiencing numbness and tingling in the groin area both during and immediately after riding the bicycle out on patrol. (Id. at 66). When these episodes occurred, he would dismount from his bicycle and walk around until the numbness subsided. The numbness or tingling would typically subside within 30 seconds to two minutes after stopping and dismounting from the bike's saddle. (Id. at 70). Yarchak had never experienced numbness or tingling in his groin area before joining the bicycle patrol unit and attributed the numbness to his extended periods of bicycle riding while on patrol. (Id. at 66; Selle Italia Br. Supp. Mot. Sum Judg. at Ex. B, p. 166-167).

In an April 22, 1997 visit with his family doctor, Dr. Ralph La Guardia, Officer Yarchak reported a couple of instances in 1997 in which he was unable to maintain an erection. (Pl.'s Br. Opp., Exhibit A, p. 73-77). He had never before experienced any symptoms of erectile dysfunction or impotence. (Id. at 75). According to Officer Yarchak's deposition, there was no discussion during this visit regarding any possible link between his bike riding and these symptoms because, at the time, he did not yet think it was a serious problem or suspect that these symptoms might be related to the numbing or tingling sensation he often experienced while bicycle riding. (Id. at 76-77).

Over time, however, Plaintiff's condition became progressively worse. At some point just prior to September 18th, Plaintiff viewed a promotional spot for an upcoming episode of the television news show 20/20 featuring reports on, among other topics, the possible link between impotency and bicycle riding. (Id. at 82). Although he was not able to watch the original September 18th broadcast of this 20/20 episode, he viewed a tape of the program approximately "two weeks later," either the "end of September or beginning of October" 1997. (Id.). This broadcast featured an interview with Dr. Irwin Goldstein, a professor of urology at Boston Medical Center and a leading researcher into a possible connection between bicycle riding and sexual dysfunction. (Selle Italia Br. Supp. Mot. for Sum. Judg., Exhibit B, at 80). According to Plaintiff's deposition testimony, it was this report on 20/20 that "first raised the question in [his] mind that there could possibly be a connection" between his erectile dysfunction and his bicycle riding. (Pl.s Opp. Br. at 81).

On October 21, 1997, after having viewed the program, Officer Yarchak visited Dr. La Guardia and told him about the 20/20 program, expressing concern that his erectile dysfunction may be connected to prolonged periods of bicycle riding while on patrol. Dr. La Guardia discussed with Plaintiff the possibility of a connection between his bicycle riding and his impotence, and referred him to Dr. John Graham, a local urologist, for further examination. In notes dictated on the same day as Plaintiff's visit, Dr. La Guardia opined that Plaintiff' impotence may be related to "secondary pressure from the bicycle seat causing problems." (Selle Italia's Mot. Br. in Supp. of Mot. for Sum. Judg. at Ex. D). During a visit to Dr. Graham on November 10, 1997, Plaintiff explained that he was a bicycle policeman, that he rode his bicycle for extended periods of time, and that, based on the 20/20 episode, he was concerned about a possible link between his impotence and the bicycle riding. (Vetta U.S.A.'s Mot. Sum. Judg., Exhibit F, at 89).

On or about February 19, 1998, Plaintiff visited Dr. Irwin Goldstein at the Boston Medical Center for an initial consultation. (Pl.'s Dep. at 112). Dr. Goldstein is a professor of urology at the Boston University School of Medicine and one of the nation's leading researchers on impotence. His ongoing research into the link between erectile dysfunction and bicycle riding was featured on the September 18, 1997 broadcast of 20/20 which originally gave rise to Plaintiff's concerns about the link between his impotency and his bicycle seat. Following his visit with Dr. Goldstein, Plaintiff replaced his Trek bicycle seat with a seat sold by Biko. (Pl.'s Opp. Br. at Exhibit A, p. 174). As Plaintiff's opposition brief explains, the Biko seat is specifically designed to distribute pressure away from the perineal arteries underneath the genitals. After switching to the Biko seat Plaintiff no longer experienced numbness or tingling in his groin area while on bicycle patrol. (Pl.'s Opp. Br. at 3). Approximately one year later, in February 1999, Dr. Goldstein conducted a diagnostic test, called an arteriogram, which, according to the doctor, revealed "specific blockage in the arteries that allow blood...