The Curious Case of the Faulty Belt

Belts are an integral part of many outfits, and most of us take it for granted that our belts always keep our pants at waist level or above.  Vincent J. Vogelsang, an Iowa man, alleges that he discovered the hard way that belts don’t always do their job.

Mr. Vogelsang was apparently minding his own business, staggering around Iowa City with a healthy buzz (.264 blood alcohol content), when suddenly his belt malfunctioned, causing his pants to plummet from waist-level to ankle-level.  Two women, who happened to be in close proximity to Mr. Vogelsang at the time, allege that Mr. Vogelsang then made “lewd and sexual gestures” toward them subsequent to the removal of his pants.  According to Mr. Vogelsang, they had it all wrong and he was simply the innocent victim of a defective belt. Police apparently found the two women more credible and charged Mr. Vogelsang with indecent exposure and habitual intoxication.

Could it be that the women misinterpreted the drunk man’s awkward, uncoordinated attempts to re-clothe himself as obscene gestures? Without knowing more about the facts (and not really wanting to), we can say it is possible.

But it appears that Mr. Vogelsang may be laying the groundwork for a product liability suit! His belt was unreasonably dangerous and defective! It malfunctioned! Will he soon soon?