On July 26, 2013, plaintiff Phillip Collier, 64, was at his home on Gresham Drive, in El Dorado Hills, when he observed flames at the front of his yard. He exited the home and was met by fire personnel who escorted him and his adult son from the property. Prior to the incident, Serrano El Dorado Owners’ Association retained Breault Asphalt Maintenance Inc. to perform street repairs and install French drains in the neighborhood where Collier’s house was located. Breault subcontracted Central Valley Engineering & Asphalt Inc. to perform the street drain work. Before commencing the digging work, Breault contacted the Underground Services Administration to perform a survey and mark the locations of utilities in the area of the work. The Underground Services Administration subsequently came out and marked the utilities, but there was a delay in the roadwork, and the Underground Services Administration ticket expired. In addition, before the work was performed, Serrano power washed the markings off the street because of complaints it received from homeowners. The Underground Services Administration was not called out again to remark the areas. As a result, when Central Valley arrived on site to start the work, its employees walked the job with representatives of both Serrano and Breault, and were allegedly advised that the markings had been removed, but that there had been no prior markings in the area where work was to be performed. Central Valley employees cut into the street and began trenching at a depth of 18 inches, but Central Valley’s trenching machine struck a buried gas service line in front of Collier’s home, resulting in a gas fire that consumed the trenching machine. The fire then spread to Collier’s yard and landscape, burning trees, shrubs and his lawn. The fire department, along with the gas and electric company, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., responded to the scene, and the fire was completely suppressed within about 90 minutes after the gas was cut off. Neither Central Valley’s employees nor Collier and his son sustained physical . However, Collier claimed he suffered emotional as a result of the incident. Collier sued Serrano El Dorado Owners’ Association, Central Valley Engineering & Asphalt Inc. and Breault Asphalt Maintenance Inc. Collier alleged that the workers were negligent in the performance of their work. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the defendants were negligent for failing to contact the Underground Services Administration again to redo the markings. Defense counsel contended that the Underground Services Administration had not initially marked any utilities in the area of the work and that the Underground Services Administration does not typically mark service lines in the subject neighborhood. Counsel also contended that Pacific Gas and Electric was negligent, as the service line should have been buried more than 24 inches, but was only set at 15 inches in the subject location., Collier admitted that he did not sustain any bodily from the fire, but claimed that he had a very bad history with fire, including the loss of his aunt, uncle and five cousins in a house fire that he witnessed as a child. He also claimed that his family home had burned during a Christmas fire when he was a young child and that his father and older brother suffered burns in that fire. He further claimed that he was involved in an automobile accident in the late 1970s, which resulted in a fire from which he suffered serious burns. Collier alleged that as a result of his history with fires, he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the subject incident. Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Collier was unusually susceptible to emotional damage from exposure to fire and that as a result, Collier suffered post-traumatic stress disorder from the subject fire. The plaintiff’s expert psychiatrist also opined that Collier suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the subject fire. Collier’s suffered $15,000 worth of property damage, and he was allegedly “forced” to sell his home at a loss because of the nightmares he allegedly continued to experience two years post-fire. However, the amount of Collier’s property damage was paid by his first-party insurer, and Collier conceded that the defense’s expert appraiser’s opinion was accurate in that the home sold for its full fair market value in July 2015. Thus, no out-of-pocket property damages or loss-of-value damages were claimed at trial. Collier sought recovery of non-economic damages for his past and future emotional pain and suffering. Defense counsel argued that Collier could not recover damages for emotional distress because he had not sustained any bodily from the fire. Counsel also argued that Collier had a significant, pre-existing history of anxiety, depression and emotional distress relating to the previous fires, as well as financial issues and long standing family stressors. The defense’s expert neuropsychologist opined that Collier did not suffer post-traumatic stress disorder from the subject fire, as Collier stopped to take photos of the fire as he was leaving the house with fire personnel. Instead, the expert opined that Collier’s emotional issues were related to his pre-existing history with fire, as well as documented financial issues and severe problems with a dysfunctional adult son. The defense’s internal medicine expert opined during depositions that Collier had a temporary uptick in his anxiety and depression following the fire, but that Collier returned to his pre-fire baseline anxiety and depression level within a couple of months after the fire.