Between April 1, 2011, and February 2012, plaintiffs Margarita Mejia, Gerardo Bucio, Alexis Gonzales, Felipe Martinez, Alberto Mejia, Julieta Mejia, Rigoberto Mejia, Jessica Sullivan, and Noe Verduzco were employees of El Mundo Del Tango, a corporation that operates an events center in San Diego known as Tango Del Rey. The center is primarily used for events such as quinceañeras, wedding receptions, parties, jazz concerts and dances (e.g., tango parties, swing, and others). It also serves food and has a bar with a beer and wine license. Margarita Mejia was a cook and chef in charge of catering, Julieta Mejia was the events coordinator, and the other employees were servers, provided security, collected money at the door, and/or performed other jobs. However, the employees claimed that between April 2011 and February 2012, they were not been paid wages, tips, or overtime pay. The plaintiff employees sued El Mundo Del Tango and its president, Ive Simard. (Tango Del Rey was also sued, but it was the name of the events center operated by El Mundo Del Tango.) The employees alleged that the defendants violated the Labor Law by failing to pay them the appropriate amounts. Plaintiffs Ariadne Valencia, Brenda Valencia and Lydia Madrigal declined to participate in the matter, and were subsequently dismissed from the case. Defense counsel contended that Margarita Mejia agreed to partner with Ive Simard in the business (El Mundo Del Tango) and that it was agreed that Margarita Mejia would not receive a salary or wages, but would get a share of the profits. Counsel also contended that the employees were all supposed to be on the payroll and that they were all paid their wages and overtime for the subject period. Defense counsel presented evidence that, among other things, Margarita Mejia was in charge of the payroll and was responsible for paying the other employees. Counsel also contended that there was a Point of Sale system that was to be used by the employees to keep track of their hours, but that Margarita Mejia told them not to use it and mostly paid the employees in cash. Thus, defense counsel asserted that the plaintiffs were paid for all their work either by payroll or by Margarita Mejia paying them with cash generated by the events. A cross-complaint was stricken at the beginning of trial in response to plaintiffs’ counsel’s motion in limine for discovery abuses and failure to participate in discovery by former counsel for the defendants., The plaintiff employees sought recovery for all wages, overtime pay, tips, and penalties.