On April 20, 2013, plaintiff Marta Hurtado attended a party for her uncle’s 80th birthday in Wilton. Hurtado’s husband was the disc jockey at the party of about 30 people. When Hurtado’s husband did not turn down the music after the first noise complaint, at approximately 11:40 p.m., Sacramento deputies returned to ask Hurtado’s husband to turn down the music. In response, Hurtado’s husband allegedly told the deputies that they should leave because they had no right to be on his property. Deputy Eric Duncan ultimately arrested Hurtado’s husband. While her husband was being arrested, Hurtado was inside the house, away from the scene. However, she became aware of a crowd that had started to form while her husband was being arrested. As a result, Hurtado joined the crowd shortly after hearing about her husband’s arrest and came to within an arm’s length of Deputy David Cuneo, who had stepped in to act as a buffer between Duncan and the crowd that had formed. Hurtado then raised her voice and yelled at the deputies. Cuneo pushed Hurtado in order to get her to step back, causing Hurtado to fall backward onto the ground. Hurtado got up and walked back into the house, away from the scene, but Cuneo followed her. When Hurtado tried to avoid the deputy, Cuneo shoved a couch in an attempt to stop her. Cuneo then stepped up behind Hurtado, handcuffed her, led her to a patrol car, and wrote her a citation. On Aug. 16, 2013, Hurtado pleaded “nolo contendere” to the charges of resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. However, Hurtado claimed that she sustained to her head, chest and back during the incident. Hurtado sued Cuneo; Duncan; Deputy Grant Haney; Deputy Scott Jones; and their employers, the county of Sacramento and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department. Hurtado alleged that the defendants’ action constituted an excessive use of force and a violation of her Constitutional rights. Several of the defendants were let out of the case, and the matter continued against Cuneo only. Hurtado claimed that when she went outside to join the crowd, it was starting to voice their distress with the deputies, asking them what was going on and why, telling the deputies that they were trespassing, and demanding that the deputies leave. She claimed that in the midst of the screaming and “chaos,” she tried to get Cuneo’s attention by raising her voice to be heard over the noisy crowd, but that in response, Cuneo pushed her. She alleged that as a result, she got up and attempted to leave the scene, but that Cuneo followed her and that when she tried to avoid him, he shoved a couch into her side. Defense counsel contended that when Hurtado’s husband was approached by the deputies a second time, he became irate and began acting in a disorderly fashion. Counsel contended that as a result, Hurtado’s husband was arrested. Counsel acknowledged that a crowd had formed during the husband’s arrest and that Cuneo had to act as a buffer between Duncan and the crowd, but disputed the claim that the crowd had started to yell at the deputies. Instead, defense counsel contended that Hurtado started to yell at the deputies even though she was less than an arm’s length from Cuneo. Counsel also contended that when Hurtado refused Cuneo’s order to step back, Cuneo pushed her softly in to attempt to get her to move back, but that she accidentally fell backward onto the ground. Cuneo claimed that he followed Hurtado back into the house so that he could try to talk to her for his use-of-force report. However, he claimed that when he entered the living room and tried to speak with Hurtado, she kept circling around a couch. Cuneo further claimed that in order to stop Hurtado from circling, he pushed the couch against a wall in the living room, effectively barricading Hurtado. Thus, he denied shoving the coach against Hurtado. Judge Kendall Newman dismissed the excessive force claim regarding the first incident of Hurtado being pushed to the ground by Cuneo. Thus, the matter continued on the excessive force claim involving the couch., Hurtado claimed that she sustained a concussion, bruising to her chest and back, and contusions. She also alleged that she suffered from dizziness as a result of her head injury. Hurtado ultimately presented to an emergency room the next day and was treated for her alleged . Hurtado claimed that he conditions resolved within a short time. Plaintiff’s counsel left it up to the jury to decide what would be fair compensation for Hurtado’s alleged and damages.