At around 1 a.m. on May 24, 2014, plaintiff Joe Borowski, 51, a self-employed plastics fabricator, was a guest at The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe, in Truckee, watching a meteor shower with his girlfriend near the outside fire pit. As they entered the hotel lobby and walked toward the elevator, Borowski slipped on a wet floor that had just been mopped. He claimed to his neck, back, and a knee. Borowski sued the operator of the hotel, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., LLC; a subcontractor from Arizona who performed janitorial services at night, Landcorp Management Services, LLC; a small housekeeping company from Reno that was subcontracted by Landcorp, Joas Services, LLC; and an employee for Joas Services, LLC, who had mopped the floor before the accident, Jasmine Torres. Borowski alleged that the defendants were negligent for failing to properly warn of the recently mopped floor, creating a dangerous condition. Several of the defendants’ insurance carriers tendered their defense to the Ritz-Carlton’s carrier, who accepted those tenders. Thus, counsel for Ritz-Carlton’s carrier defended all four defendants. Borowski denied seeing a “wet-floor” sign in the area and claimed the lack of proper warnings caused his slip and fall. Defense counsel argued that Borowski was drinking alcohol prior to his slip at the Ritz-Carlton and that Borowski should have seen the “wet-floor” sign that was right in front of him. Thus, counsel denied the defendants were liable for the accident. Defense counsel also noted that the incident was witnessed by Ritz-Carlton’s security officer, who was on patrol. He testified that there was a “wet floor” warning sign only a few feet away from where Borowski slipped. He also testified that he observed Borowski hyperextend his knee and that he transported Borowski to the emergency room., Borowski claimed he sustained soft-tissue to his back and neck, as well as an exacerbation of pre-existing knee symptoms. He was subsequently taken to an emergency room. Although Borowski claimed he had a positive disc bulge on an MRI, he did not have that condition worked-up, as the primary complaint was always his knee. Borowski had chiropractic and physical therapy treatment, and he underwent a total knee replacement, which was performed by treating orthopedic surgery expert. Borowski contended that he was physically doing well from his pre-existing at the time of his slip at the Ritz-Carlton and that the incident aggravated his condition. The plaintiff’s treating orthopedic surgery expert testified that because of Borowski’s age, Borowski would likely need the knee implant replaced at some point in his lifetime. Thus, Borowski sought recovery of $2 million in total damages, including $83,553.41 in past medical costs, and unspecified amounts in future medical costs for a future knee surgery and in non-economic damages for his past and future pain and suffering. Borowski was self-employed and did not make a claim for lost wages. Defense counsel contended that Borowski had six prior knee surgeries arising from a motorcycle accident as a teenager, a workers’ compensation slip-and-fall 10 years after the crash, and another slip and fall at a 7-11 store several years after that, which resulted in litigation. Counsel also contended that Borowski had a second workers’ compensation slip-and-fall accident at another job five years before the incident at the Ritz-Carlton. Thus, defense counsel argued that Borowski’s knee condition was degenerative and unrelated to the incident at the Ritz-Carlton.