Plaintiffs Amber Brown, 26, and Megan Meadowcroft, 26, employees of Keyways Vineyard and Winery, in Temecula, were both taken off the work schedule shortly after complaining about their new general manager. Brown worked for Keyways for about nine months when Carlos Pineiro was hired as the new general manager. Meadowcroft began working for the winery shortly after Pineiro was hired. Brown and Meadowcroft claimed that Pineiro made sexually explicit comments to them and touched them inappropriately, but that when they complained about Pineiro to Silverton Partners and the owners and managers of Keyways, Essence Business Group Inc., they were both taken off the work schedule and never put back on. Meadowcroft and Brown sued Pineiro; the owner of the winery, Silverton Partners Inc.; and the management company, Essence Business Group Inc. Essence failed to obtain new counsel after their former lawyers were relieved about six months before trial. As a result, it did not appear at trial, and the matter moved forward against them in absentia. Brown and Meadowcroft claimed that Pineiro sexually harassed them for three to 16 weeks in total. They claimed that while Pineiro was fired two weeks after he started working for Keyways, but that he was rehired as the general manager two months later, after Pineiro reached out to Silverton and Essence about being rehired, allegedly promising additional sales, connections and better behavior. Brown claimed that when she learned that Pineiro was rehired, she again complained to Silverton and Essence, but that her complaints were ignored. She later obtained a temporary restraining order. Brown claimed that while the final restraining order hearing was pending, she was put on leave while Pineiro continued to work, and that after the restraining order was granted, she was never put back on the schedule, despite following up with Silverton and Essence multiple times. Meadowcroft claimed that after she complained about Pineiro, she was retaliated against by being left off new work schedules. Pineiro claimed that he did not engage in any harassment or other inappropriate behavior. Silverton’s counsel contended that Silverton was not the employer and that the employer was Essence., Brown claimed that she suffers from a panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the incidents. Meadowcroft described her symptoms, which were allegedly consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. Brown and Meadowcroft sought recovery of lost earnings and emotional distress damages. Defense counsel disputed the extent of the plaintiffs’ damages and questioned whether the plaintiffs were harmed at all.