The lawsuit by Hillary Whitman alleges that the company, Super73 Inc. of Irvine, makes products that can be used to break the state’s speed limits for e-bikes.
“There are a lot of parents who are upset about Super73 and the vehicles that it sells, and a lot of those parents are in Marin County,” said Patrick Huyett, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys. “This is an issue that really impacted them.” “Plaintiff purchased the vehicle based on the company’s representations that it was an e-bike that her son could legally ride — a Class 2 e-bike,” the lawsuit says.
Norton was among four police chiefs in Marin County who signed a joint letter in May that warned parents about an increase in youths illegally and recklessly riding electric motorcycles under the pretense they are legal e-bikes. Other signers were the police chiefs of Mill Valley, Fairfax and Ross. In April, a report by the Marin County Civil Grand Jury urged local governments to closely regulate e-bike use by youths. The report recommended that youths under age 16 should be prohibited from operating class 2 e-bikes.This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1778, which will start a pilot program in Marin County for local governments to voluntarily prohibit youths under age 16 from riding class 2 e-bikes. Assemblymember Damon Connolly introduced the bill.
Mittelstaedt said he hopes the prospect of refunds from Super73 will prompt parents to switch to safer and legal e-bikes and bicycles.