At 7:45 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Marleni Barrera, 42, a stay-at-home mother, was walking her daughter, plaintiff Caroline Barrera, 9, to the Citizens of the World Charter School, in Los Angeles, and stopped at the intersection of North Bronson Avenue and Fountain Avenue, waiting to cross the street at a crosswalk. At the same time, a truck operated by Dennis Lara was proceeding south on North Bronson Avenue when it came to a stop for a stop sign at the intersection. The Barreras then started to cross the street. However, while walking hand-in-hand with her daughter, Marleni Barrera noticed that the truck began to move. As a result, she pushed Caroline away and stepped in to act as a human shield for her daughter. Lara’s truck ultimately struck Marleni and Caroline Barrera. Marleni Barrera died shortly thereafter, while Caroline survived, having allegedly sustained abdominal . Caroline, by and through her guardian ad litem, Marcelino Vivanco; Vellvet Barrera; and the decedent’s estate sued Lara; Lara’s employer, Larry Bowman Trucking Inc.; the operator of the school, Citizens of the World Charter School-Los Angeles; and the maintainer of the intersection, the city of Los Angeles (which was initially sued as Los Angeles Department of Transportation). The plaintiffs alleged that Lara was negligent in the operation of the truck and that Larry Bowman Trucking was liable for Lara’s actions while acting in the course and scope of his employment with the company. They also alleged that the city and Citizens of the World Charter School negligent maintained the intersection, creating a dangerous condition. The plaintiffs initially also sued the owner of the property where the charter school was located, the Los Angeles Unified School District, but it was ultimately dismissed from the case when evidence showed that the charter school acted independently from the school district. The Los Angeles County Office of Education (which was initially erroneously sued as the Board of Education of the city of Los Angeles) and the county of Los Angeles were also originally sued because they are affiliated with charter schools. However, they were likewise dismissed from the case when evidence showed that the charter school acted independently. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended Caroline and her mother began crossing the street, thinking Lara’s truck stopped for them. However, Lara failed to timely see the pedestrians in the crosswalk prior to impact. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that the charter school was located on the campus of Le Conte Middle School, which was operated by the Los Angeles Unified School District, and that the campus was located in a congested area and had limited parking or room for vehicles. Counsel asserted that the addition of the charter school to the area caused increased cars and pedestrians, particularly with the use of a valet drop-off program at an improper and unsafe location. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the school valet drop-off program was improperly placed at a busy location and incorrectly operated using two or three non-approved cones, versus 12 or more cones approved by the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, which are normally used to create a lane. Plaintiffs’ counsel also asserted that officials with the Citizens of the World Charter School-Los Angeles failed to notify city officials of its plan to have an elementary charter school in the area, which caused insufficient stop signs to be installed in the area. Counsel further asserted that the school failed to have a pedestrian route or safe passage to the school for its students and their parents. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the operation of the charter school caused backups of traffic that reached the subject intersection and caused excessive conflict between vehicles and pedestrians in a chaotic fashion that confused and frustrated both drivers and pedestrians. Plaintiffs’ counsel maintained that both the city of Los Angeles and the Citizens of the World Charter School had notice of the intersection’s dangerous condition and the many “near misses” at the subject intersection. Counsel contended that the school had asked the Los Angeles Department of Transportation for crossing guards at the subject intersection and that the Department of Transportation had conducted traffic surveys and determined that a crossing guard should be assigned to the intersection. However, counsel asserted that despite the intersection being a dangerous condition, the city failed to provide a crossing guard because it lacked the funds and did not provide a crossing guard until after the decedent’s death, when a councilman helped to fund the crossing guard by providing funds from his discretionary budget. Lara stated that he stopped at the stop sign at the intersection, looked both ways, and then proceeded forward. He claimed that although he saw the stop sign and the subject crosswalk, he did not see Caroline or the decedent until the accident. Lara ultimately pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter, thereby admitting fault for the accident. Counsel for Citizens of the World Charter School asserted that the school’s parking valet drop-off program actually alleviated congestion and that the valet parking program was not relevant since it had not yet begun to operate at the time of the incident. However, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the program was operating at the time of the incident because of a special field trip that had been planned for the fourth grade for that morning, which required fourth graders to be at school 30 minutes earlier. Counsel for Citizens of the World Charter School asserted that the city was at fault for the collision, as the city was aware of its location, especially after a crossing guard survey was done, and as the school had asked for crossing guards at the intersection, but none was provided. In addition, counsel contended that the Los Angeles Unified School District had a published “safe route to school” plan. Thus, counsel asserted that the Citizens of the World Charter School was not responsible for the condition of the intersection, which was owned by the city of Los Angeles, and did not have a duty to provide crossing guards for the intersection, since that duty had been undertaken by the city pursuant to the Los Angeles City Code. Further, Counsel for Citizens of the World Charter School asserted that heavy traffic surrounding schools is a well-known and common occurrence, and does not constitute a dangerous condition. However, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that as a charter school, Citizens of the World Charter School operated independently from the Los Angeles Unified School District for the management and operation of its school, and that the charter school’s use of the roadway adversely affected the subject intersection, thereby creating a duty — particularly when dealing with minor children. Counsel for the city of Los Angeles contended that the city was unable to provide a crossing guard at the subject location because it lacked the funds. Counsel also moved for summary judgment based on a design immunity defense, and the motion was granted. Thus, the city was let out of the case., Marleni Barrera sustained traumatic head with a subarachnoid hemorrhage and multiple fractures throughout the body. Her heart also stopped beating at the intersection, and she had to be given a 45-minute cardiac massage. She was subsequently transported by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in Los Angeles. However, she was ultimately pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital at 9:11 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2014. She was 42 years old. Thus, the decedent’s estate, as well as the Caroline and Vellvet Barrera, sought recovery of wrongful death damages. Caroline Barrera sustained blunt-force abdominal trauma, lacerations of the scalp, and contusions. She was subsequently hospitalized overnight and received four sutures to treat her scalp lacerations. Thereafter, she was released with a walker. Caroline claimed that she did not have any long-term physical limitations after healing from her initial . She returned to school after approximately six weeks, and required no surgery or therapy. However, she claimed that she had to use a walker for about a month in order to ambulate and that she required two years of counseling.