On May 20, 2010, plaintiff Ronnie Bush, 58, an entrepreneur and real estate worker, and plaintiff Katie O’Brien, 21, an entertainer, entered their 5800-square-foot, three-level house, in Monterey, after returning from dinner. Bush then went to check the hot tub and found that it was not on. As a result, he went downstairs and an explosion occurred shortly thereafter, at about 1:30 a.m. on May 21, 2010. Bush sustained to his hands, while O’Brien sustained to her face and foot. Bush and O’Brien sued the company that provided propane to the house and did a safety check in August 2009, Pacific LPG Corp., doing business as Pacific Propane. They also sued the installer of the propane pipes, Ron Gertz, individually and doing business as Local Projects; the manufacturer of the gas valves used in the propane system, Milwaukee Valve Co. Inc.; the company that checked the propane system for leaks in October 2009, A&R Plumbing Inc.; the manufacturers of TracPipe used for the system, Omegaflex Inc. and Ward Manufacturing, LLC; the prior property owners, Gary Tarnowski, Roseane Tarnowski and Tarnowski Enterprises, LLC; the current property owner, Roar Investment Group, LLC, which Bush was a principal of; the installer of radiant heating and propane water heaters in the home, Haycock Construction Inc., doing business as Alternative Energy; and the company that had a vacation rental agreement, A.G. Davi Ltd. (which was erroneously sued as “AG Davi Property Management, LLC”). Prior to trial, a motion for summary judgment was granted for defendants Omegaflex and Ward Manufacturing, who manufactured the TracPipe, which manifested pitting and holes when tested after the explosion. In addition, several defendants, including Roar Investment Group, Ron Gertz and Garry Tarnowski, agreed to settle. Ultimately the matter continued to trial against Pacific LPG, A&R Plumbing and A.G. Davi only. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the explosion was most likely fueled by air and gas (propane) and that a leak in the propane system had existed since the summer of 2009, when it was identified by the prior owner, Gary Tarnowski. Counsel contended that Pacific LPG did a change-of-ownership safety check in August 2009 and failed to locate the leak. Counsel also contended that A&R Plumbing came out to investigate a reported gas leak in October 2009 and also failed to discover it. Plaintiffs’ counsel further contended that A.G. Davi, which was the vacation rental company responsible for rentals and had property management responsibilities, also failed to detect the propane leak. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the defendants’ failure to timely discover and repair the propane leak resulted in the explosion in May 2010. Counsel for Pacific LPG, A&R Plumbing and A.G. Davi argued that there was no leak, as evidenced by the fact that no one, other than one individual, claimed to have smelled propane between August 2009 and the date of the explosion, in May 2010. Counsel for A.G. Davi noted that a cleaning person, who A.G. Davi retained to clean the house, testified that she had smelled gas the day before the explosion, but did not report it to A.G. Davi. However, defense counsel contended that the alleged leak in the propane pipe, which was discovered six weeks post-accident, was actually caused by corrosive pitting resulting from broken pipes that caused water in the basement area post-accident, as well as a highly corrosive mixture of chlorine and water during firefighting efforts after the explosion. In response, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that A.G. Davi should have known or discovered the alleged leak because its employee was at the house on the day of the explosion. Counsel further argued that the cleaning person was A.G. Davi’s agent and that the agent’s knowledge of the leak should be imputed to A.G. Davi, as the principal under agency law., Bush and O’Brien were both hospitalized after the explosion. Bush sustained a number of burns, including third-degree burns on the dorsal (outside) portion of both hands. He subsequently spent three weeks in a burn unit and underwent full-thickness skin grafts. Bush claimed that he continues to have substantial pain in his hands and that it is necessary for him to take ongoing pain medications. He also claimed that his caused range-of-motion limitations and some functional impairment. Thus, Bush sought recovery of approximately $452,000 in medical costs and approximately $50,000 for nursing care, which is provided by a friend for over a year after the accident. He also sought recovery of damages for his pain and suffering. O’Brien sustained a number of cuts, both to her face and a foot. She was subsequently treated with sutures to her foot and released from the hospital. O’Brien did not complain of any limitations and need for future care. Thus, she sought recovery of about $6,500 in past medical costs and an unspecified amount of damages for her past pain and suffering. Plaintiffs’ counsel ultimately asked the jury to award Bush and O’Brien $5 million in total damages.