On May 1, 1990, plaintiff Rudy Trujillo, 65, and his wife, plaintiff’s decedent Colleen Trujillo, 62, were hired as on-site managers for Tri City Self Storage, a self-storage business located in Loomis. The Trujillos previously responded to an advertisement that appeared in the Sacramento Bee a month earlier. The ad, which was placed by the owner of Tri City Self Storage, Richard Fletcher, stated that Fletcher wanted to hire a “management team” to live on site and manage the self-storage business. The demands of managing the business required two employees, since one employee was required to always remain on site 24/7 to provide security (consistent with the company’s advertisements) and monitor the security and fire alarm system. As a result, when the Trujillos were hired, the started residing in living quarters located on site that also doubled as working space. In around 2004, Steven Werthmann entered the picture as an investor. (However, Fletcher testified in deposition that the business relationship between him and Werthmann was a “partnership.”) As part of the agreement, Werthmann also agreed to participate in management decisions and to split the profits according to their percentage of ownership. In April 2010, the Trujillos both became ill and were hospitalized. As a result, their son filled in for them while Mr. Trujillo was in the Intensive Care Unit. Their son also contacted Fletcher and Werthmann to advise them of the situation. However, Fletcher and Werthmann allegedly referred to the circumstances as the Trujillos having “abandoned” the job. Thus, the Trujillos ultimately stopped working for Tri City Self Storage in Sept. 1, 2010, when Mr. Trujillo was 85 years old and Ms. Trujillo was 82 years old. Mr. and Ms. Trujillo sued Fletcher, Werthmann, Tri City Self Storage, and Tri City Storage LLC. The Trujillos alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted misconduct that persisted over a 20-year employment relationship. They also brought the suit based on alleged non-payment of wages, elder abuse, misrepresentation, and unfair business practices. Shortly after the suit was filed, Ms. Trujillo passed away from unrelated causes in May 2011. Fletcher then passed away several months later, in September 2011. Thus, Nancy Andersen, acting as the personal representative of Ms. Trujillo’s estate, and Judy Fletcher, acting as the representative of Richard Fletcher’s estate, were substituted into the suit. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the storage business’s office was required to be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., seven days each week, and that in addition to performing their work duties during the 56 hours that the office was open during the week, the Trujillos also had to perform additional work duties before and after the office hours. Counsel also contended that over the course of the 20 years that the defendants employed the Trujillos, they advertised that there was security present on site 24 hours per day, seven days per week. Thus, counsel asserted wage and hour claims, and claims of financial elder abuse. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the defendants operated the self-storage business in a way that maximized the cash that they could put in their pockets and that, in doing so, they often times reverted to illegal conduct. Counsel also contended that the defendants did not pay for a separate service to provide off-site fire alarm monitoring and that to save on payroll, taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, and other related expenses, the defendants only paid Mr. Trujillo a “salary.” Thus, counsel contended that Ms. Trujillo did not receive compensation for her services. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that the legal effect of the agreement between Werthmann and Mr. Fletcher was a partnership and, therefore, Werthmann was vicariously liable for any damages suffered by the Trujillos. Tri City Storage LLC filed a cross-complaint against Rudy Trujillo, Colleen Trujillo, and their son, Greg Trujillo. They alleged that the Trujillos’ actions constituted conversion. Eight days after the defendants received a letter of representation from the plaintiffs’ counsel, the defendants filed a report with the Placer County Sheriff’s Department, claiming that the Trujillos embezzled over $1 million during the 20 years they worked for the defendants. A forensic accounting of sorts was done by the defendants and submitted to the district attorney in furtherance of the criminal complaint. However, a criminal action was never pursued, as the district attorney declined to file charges based on insufficient evidence. In addition, the certified public accountant who conducted the forensic audit that was sent to the DA was not disclosed to testify as an expert in the civil trial. Instead, the defendants’ personal CPA provided expert testimony and claimed that there was some “missing” or unreported cash. However, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that any missing or unreported cash was a result of Tri City Storage and its operators avoiding tax obligations. Prior to his death, Mr. Fletcher testified in a video-taped deposition that the job of managing the facility required someone to be present 24/7 and that a day off for Rudy and Colleen Trujillo was rare. As a result, Mr. Fletcher claimed that his company required the Trujillos to perform the 24/7 security duties, in addition to the other various job duties that involved managing the storage business. In regard to the claims of financial elder abuse, defense counsel contended that Rudy and Colleen Trujillo were informed about what the job entailed and that it was explained that only Mr. Trujillo would be paid a salary and that Ms. Trujillo would not receive compensation for her services prior to them taking the job. In addition, counsel contended that it was believed that the Trujillos had embezzled from the company for over 20 years. Thus, defense counsel raised the affirmative defense of “unclean hands.”, Rudy and Colleen Trujillo were employed by Tri City Storage LLC from May 1, 1990 through Sept. 1, 2010. Thus, Mr. Trujillo and Nancy Andersen, on behalf of Ms. Trujillo, sought recovery for the defendants’ failure to pay minimum wages to Ms. Trujillo and failure to pay overtime wages to Mr. Trujillo. They also sought recovery for the defendants’ financial elder abuse, violation of Business and Professions Code § 17200 regarding restitution and injunction, unjust enrichment, Labor Code § 226 penalties, and Labor Code § 203 penalties. In regard to Tri City Storage LLC’s cross-complaint, it sought recovery for the Trujillo’s breach of contract and conversion.