At approximately 10:40 p.m. on March 13, 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Ernest Clark, 84, was stopped in his vehicle in the number two (far right) lane of westbound Interstate 10 (also known as the Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway), east of Palm Springs. Clark did not have his hazard lights on, and several motorists that barely avoided him called 911 to report a stopped vehicle in the westbound lane. Clark’s family reported Clark missing several hours earlier and state that Clark suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. His family also made dozens of calls to his cell phone, which went unanswered. Clark also had a history of getting lost while driving. A tractor-trailer operated by Omar Castillo was driving back from Arizona, going 55 mph on cruise control, subsequently collided with Clark’s stopped vehicle and pushed it for over 100 feet. Clark, who was outside of his vehicle, was seriously injured and died two hours after the collision. The decedent’s wife (plaintiff Thelma Clark) and adult children (plaintiffs Reherbia Clark, Ernest Clark, Jr., Arthur Clark and Consuella Brandon) sued Castillo, alleging that Castillo was negligent in the operation of his tractor-trailer, causing the decedent’s wrongful death. Castillo admitted that he only got two to three hours of sleep per 24-hour-period in the two days preceding the collision. His now-ex-girlfriend, testified that they were on the phone for an hour or more when the collision occurred and that Castillo had admitted to being tired. However, defense counsel argued that the decedent was at least partially responsible for the accident. Counsel contended that the decedent suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and had been lost on multiple prior occasions, as evidenced by the fact that his family had purchased a GPS device for him. Counsel also contended that the decedent was inexplicably driving far from home, that he was confused, and that he stopped his car on the freeway for no reason without engaging his hazard lights. Thus, defense counsel argued that the decedent’s family should have taken away the decedent’s keys and that their failure to do so caused the accident. The plaintiffs’ were ultimately awarded an issue sanction that established Castillo’s negligence as a cause of the collision. Per stipulation, there were no liability experts., Ernest Clark sustained multiple blunt force trauma in the accident. He was subsequently airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center, in Palm Springs, where he died from his . He was 84 years old. The decedent was survived by his wife, Thelma Clark; his adult sons, Reherbia Clark, Ernest Clark Jr. and Arthur Clark; and his adult daughter, Consuella Brandon. The decedent’s family testified that they were a close family and that the loss of the decedent was immense. The plaintiffs’ expert also testified that the decedent was expected to live another 10 years. Thus, the family sought recovery of noneconomic damages only for their loss of the decedent’s society, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society, and moral support. Plaintiffs’ counsel subsequently asked the jury to award $10 million for each of the five plaintiffs with full, or nearly full, liability being placed on Castillo with little or no comparative negligence by the decedent. Plaintiffs’ counsel sought to amend the complaint to allege punitive damages. The trial court subsequently granted leave to amend, but ultimately struck the punitive-damages claims from the complaint. Defense counsel contended that Clark’s life expectancy was only another six or seven years. Counsel also argued that the full value of Thelma Clark’s claim was $500,000, and that the value of each adult child’s claim was $100,000, with only 1 percent liability attributed to Castillo and 99 percent to the decedent.