On Sept. 28, 2009, plaintiff Robyn Cohen, an actress and a tenant of a 54-unit apartment complex located at 888 West Knoll Drive in West Hollywood, sustained damage to her apartment as a result of an electrical fire. One of the units in the complex had a heater/fan/light that had an electrical problem that ultimately caused the fire. As a result of the fire and efforts to put it out, numerous tenants lost their apartments and personal belongings. Nineteen tenants of the West Knoll Drive complex filed a complaint against Donald Sterling, individually and in his capacity as trustee of the Sterling Family Trust. They alleged that Sterling’s actions constituted breaches of contract and warranty of habitability. The 19 plaintiffs also erroneously named 888 West Knoll LLC, Beverly Hills Properties and Design Center Towers LLC in the suit, and were never served. In addition, 18 of the 19 plaintiffs either settled or dismissed their cases. Thus, Cohen was the lone plaintiff to go to trial with claims against Sterling only. Cohen contended that the apartment complex did not have a fully functioning fire detection system. She claimed neither the main fire alarm horns nor the 12 smoke detectors throughout the building were functioning on the date of the fire. Thus, she claimed that Sterling was negligent for failing to make sure the complex’s fire detection system was working properly. Sterling’s counsel contended that the building’s fire detection system worked well on the date of the accident, in that Cohen and the other residents at home when the fire started were alerted and safely left the building. Counsel further contended that the building manager was able to hear a loud horn during the fire, and tried to assist the tenants out of their units and direct them to safety., Cohen claimed she declined an offer to move into another unit, fearing it would not be safe, and never got back her security deposit. She also claimed the fire and subsequent ordeal caused her severe emotional distress. Thus, Cohen sought recovery of general damages, as well as $10 million in punitive damages, claiming the Sterling acted with malice. Defense counsel argued that Cohen exaggerated her emotional distress, in that she was able to continue working as an actress after the fire. With respect to punitive damages, defense counsel contended that all 15 tenants who were home at the time of the fire were able to exit the building without any physical injury.