On April 19, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Jocelyne Plascencia, 19, was driving east on State Route 126, also known as East Telegraph Road, in Fillmore. Anita Newcomb drove out of the parking lot of Francisco’s Fruit Stand and crossed both lanes of eastbound SR-126 in an attempt to make a U-turn directly in front of Plascencia’s vehicle. Plascencia went onto the shoulder of the highway to avoid colliding with Newcomb’s vehicle, causing Plascencia to lose control of her vehicle. As a result, Plascencia’s vehicle swerved to the right and collided with the back of a tractor-trailer that was parked by its operator, Charles Deese, three feet from the roadway. Plascencia ultimately died from her . Newcomb left the scene, claiming that she did not know there had been an accident. She was later charged with the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter under Penal Code § 192(c)(2), and pleaded nolo contendere in the criminal matter. The decedent’s parents, Rodolfo Plascencia and Diocelina Trujillo, sued Newcomb; Deese; and Deese’s employer, Flat Creek Transportation Inc., which owned the tractor-trailer. They also sued the owners and operators of the fruit stand, Francisco’s Fruit Inc., MMFG LLC and Jose Pascual; and the believed maintainers of the roadway, Ventura County and the State of California Department of Transportation. The decedent’s parents alleged that Newcomb and Deese were negligent in the operation of their respective vehicles and that Flat Creek Transportation was vicariously liable for Deese’s actions. They also alleged that the county and state failed to properly maintain the roadway, creating a dangerous condition of public property, and that Pascual, Francisco’s Fruit and MMFG were negligent for contributing to the dangerous condition. The decedent’s parents claimed that Newcomb was negligent for making the unsafe U-turn; that Deese was parked illegally; that Flat Creek Transportation was vicariously liable for Deese’s actions; that Pascual and the fruit stand were negligent for encouraging customers to park on the shoulder of the highway; and that the state was statutorily liable since the fruit stand and the stand’s parking lot were located on the road’s right of way. The county was dismissed from the case following demurrer, and several other parties settled before trial. The matter then continued against Deese and Flat Creek Transportation only. Prior to trial, plaintiffs’ counsel conceded that some fault should be apportioned to Newcomb, as Newcomb was negligent and Newcomb’s negligence was a substantial factor in causing the incident. During trial, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Deese pulled over to buy strawberries at the fruit stand and negligently parked the tractor-trailer on the shoulder of the highway. Counsel contended that tractor-trailers are to only be parked on a highway’s shoulder in an emergency and that Deese did not have one. Plaintiffs’ counsel argued that if Deese had not parked on the shoulder, Jocelyne Plascencia would have been able to safely maneuver her vehicle onto the shoulder instead of colliding with the tractor-trailer. Deese claimed that he did have an emergency and that he pulled over on the side of the highway because he smelled hot oil coming from his truck. Deese’s counsel further argued that the accident was solely Newcomb’s fault., Plascencia sustained traumatic . She was transported to a hospital, but she died on May 24, 2014, a little more than a month after the accident. At the time of her death, she was 19 years old and was survived by her parents. Plascencia’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their only daughter.