Fairfax parent sues e-bike company for alleged deception

A Fairfax resident has filed a lawsuit against an electric-bicycle manufacturer on allegations it sells vehicles that are illegal under California law.

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.

The lawsuit in Marin County Superior Court seeks a refund for the plaintiff, a judicial declaration that Super73 vehicles are not e-bikes under California law and a court order certifying the suit as a class action.

“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.”

The lawsuit centers on what Super73 markets as class 2 e-bikes or throttle-assisted bicycles. Under California law, class 2 e-bikes are allowed to have the top throttle speed of 20 mph. Class 1 and class 3 e-bikes have motors that provide pedal assistance and have top speeds of 20 mph and 28 mph, respectively.

Whitman purchased a Super73 class 2 e-bike as a birthday gift for her 12-year-old son, whose school requires students who use e-bikes to register them. She learned that the company’s e-bikes were banned from campus.

“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.

The lawsuit says Whitman contacted Central Marin police Chief Michael Norton to ask if it was legal for her son to ride his Super73 e-bike.

“He told her no,” the lawsuit says. “She asked him if she could legally ride it, and he again said no.”

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.

The chiefs said legal e-bikes cannot be powered to more than 750 watts, and if they have a throttle control, they cannot be enabled to travel faster than 20 mph.

A Super73 company representative could not be reached for comment.

In May, a spokesperson told the Independent Journal that all of Super73’s bikes are class 2 e-bikes that have the ability to change to class 1 or 3 through a Super73 application, “which is not expressly prohibited by California state law.”

The lawsuit is scheduled for a case management conference in May.

Concerns over e-bike safety and the capacity of some models to break speed limits have been raised in Marin County communities over the past few years.

The county produced a “dashboard” webpage that displays data on local emergency responses to bicycle crashes. About 65 e-bike crashes, or 27% of overall bicycle crashes, have been reported so far this year. The remaining incidents involved conventional bicycles.

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.

Marin County Supervisor Mary Sackett worked with Connolly on the legislation. She said the county will monitor the lawsuit against Super73.

“I share the plaintiff’s concerns about what is being marketed as class 2 e-bikes,” Sackett said.

Bob Mittelstaedt, an attorney and co-founder of the Marin nonprofit E-Bike Access, expressed support for the lawsuit.

“Our local schools and police have been struggling with the plaque of these dangerous, rogue motorcycles that are sold as e-bikes to unsuspecting parents,” he said. “This lawsuit targets the source of the problem: the company that makes and markets these devices.”

Mittelstaedt said he hopes the prospect of refunds from Super73 will prompt parents to switch to safer and legal e-bikes and bicycles.

Warren Wells, policy and planning director for the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, said his organization has long been a supporter of e-bikes and believes they can make an impact on climate goals.

“However, for the past year we have been sounding the alarm about electric motorcycles capable of speeds over 30 mph being marketed as e-bikes and sold to young people,” he said. “We believe this lawsuit takes aim at a real problem in Marin and will be closely following its progress in the courts.”

On Monday, the Tamalpais Union High School District board heard a staff update on the district’s e-bike policy. It includes not allowing students to register e-bikes that don’t follow the law.

“Student’s e-bikes must be registered to park on campus,” said Tara Taupier, the district’s superintendent. “We are working with our law enforcement partners, who are the ones who determine what is legal or not.”