Beginning in 2010, plaintiffs Marianne Hooper and Jacqueline De La Cruz, both white, psychiatric nurses in their 50s, began to have issues with a group of Nigerian and black psychiatric nurses at Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center psychiatric institutions, including the Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center, in Los Angeles. Hooper and De La Cruz alleged that they were constantly discriminated against and harassed due to their race, and that when they complained, nothing was done. Hooper and De La Cruz stopped working for LAC+USC psychiatric department in 2012. Hooper went out on medical leave for two years, and then was re-assigned after coming back from medical leave. De LA Cruz left the county’s employment completely. Hooper and De La Cruz sued the operator of the psychiatric institutions, Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center; a Nigerian psychiatric nurse, Nyoko Ekpo; and a black psychiatric nurse, Clara Smith. Hooper and De La Cruz alleged that the defendants’ actions constituted race and national origin discrimination, retaliation, race and national origin harassment, and failure to prevent discrimination. Ekpo and Smith were ultimately dismissed from the action via motions for summary judgment. Thus, the matter ultimately went to trial against LAC+USC Medical Center only on the claims of race and national origin harassment. Hooper and De La Cruz claimed that they were well-qualified nurses. De La Cruz alleged that she had been a nurse for more than 30 years, often training other nurses during her career, and Hooper alleged that she had received numerous recommendation letters about her abilities from doctors in the psychiatric emergency services department. However, they contended that a group of Nigerian psychiatric nurses conspired to make their professional lives very difficult. Hooper and De La Cruz alleged that the other nurses made sure they got the worst assignments and that they were written up and reported for every infraction of the LAC+USC nursing policy. They also alleged that the other nurses called Hooper racially biased and derogatory names for white people. They further alleged that the Nigerian nurses laughed behind their backs and ridiculed them, as well. Hooper and De La Cruz contended that the other nurses received preferential treatment from the primarily Nigerian managers at LAC+USC Medical Center and Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center and that everyone turned a deaf ear to their complaints. Hooper alleged that on one specific occasion, she was falsely accused of spraying Lysol on a Nigerian Behavioral Response Team member and was called into the sheriff’s office by other Nigerian nurses who reported her for assault. However, documents supported that the sheriff investigated the claims and found that Hooper had not assaulted the man with Lysol spray. Hooper claimed that, actually, she sprayed the area with Lysol because the other nurse had a cough and she did not want to get sick in anticipation of her son visiting home from college. Hooper claimed that as a result of the incident, she began putting her complaints in writing in November 2011, but that those complaints were never investigated prior to her leaving the department in January 2012. De La Cruz alleged that she was given the worst assignments and placed with the most violent patients. She also alleged that she was not allowed to come into the nurse’s station for protection and that she was treated harshly by all of the Nigerian nurses. De La Cruz claimed that as a result, she made oral complaints to her manager, Sherifat Oseni, during her first year at Augustus Hawkins and that when she returned to Augustus Hawkins for a second stint in October 2012, she began writing her complaints in written affidavits. However, she claimed her complaints were never addressed. She alleged that as a result, she ultimately left employment with LAC+USC completely. Defense counsel acknowledged that there were personality disputes and friction amongst the individuals working in the LAC+USC psychiatric institutions, but argued that no adverse employment actions took place and that none of the actions were not based on Hooper’s and De La Cruz’s race. Counsel contended that both Hooper and De La Cruz were well-qualified nurses, but that Hooper was a very difficult person to get along with on a day-to-day basis. Defense counsel claimed that some of the nurses avoided Hooper because she was difficult, and not because it was racially motivated to do so. Counsel also claimed that De La Cruz had her own ways of doing things and caused friction at LAC+USC Medical Center and Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center, where the majority of the nurses were black or Nigerian. Defense counsel contended that everyone working at the LAC+USC psychiatric institutions tried to get along, but could not and that everyone tried to stay away from each other, but things still erupted in a workplace setting. Counsel contended that as a result, LAC+USC tried to deal with the situation and diffuse it by moving people around, but that occurrences kept happening. Thus, defense counsel argued that the friction was not due to race, but due to the coworkers not getting along. In addition, counsel contended that Smith, who is black, was a hard-charging and long-term employee who even treated physicians harshly, as she is a rough person due to dealing with emergency psychiatric patients and conditions. Counsel further contended that Ekpo, who is Nigerian, was also a well-qualified nurse and that she denied any of the interactions were based on racial frictions., Hooper took two years off of work for psychological stress allegedly caused by the incidents. She later returned to work at LAC+USC, but at a different facility, and returned with the work restriction of never to work with the same nurses. De La Cruz left LAC+USC to work at a different hospital. She allegedly quit due to the hostile work environment. Both Hooper and De La Cruz alleged emotional distress. Thus, they sought recovery for their respective loss of earnings and ongoing psychological treatment.