On June 4, 2014, plaintiffs’ decedent Erick Ortiz, 16, an autistic and special needs student at Garfield High School, was on a school-sponsored field trip to Atlantic Avenue Park, in Los Angeles. During the event, Erick, who did not know how to swim, ended up in the deep end of a swimming pool. Lifeguards found him unconscious and tried to resuscitate him but were unable to do so. Erick ultimately died. Erick’s parents, Claudia Herrera and Cesar Ortiz, sued the Los Angeles Unified School District; the principal at Garfield High School, Jose Huerta; Erick’s full-time teacher’s aide, Jose Lopez; and the park’s operator, Los Angeles County. Herrera and Ortiz alleged that Lopez failed to supervise Erick and that Huerta and the school district were liable for Lopez’s actions. They also alleged the county failed to train its lifeguards and was liable for the lifeguards’ failure to appropriate supervise the students in the area of the pool. The county filed cross-complaints against the Los Angeles Unified School District; Huerta; the high school’s assistant principal, Mario Cantu; and the director of insurance for the school district, Robert Reider. The county alleged that the school district had an agreement with it that required the school district to defend and indemnify it. The county also alleged that the individual cross-defendants fraudulently misrepresented their authority to enter into such an agreement on behalf of the school district. The Los Angeles Unified School District also filed a cross-complaint against the county for equitable indemnity and contribution. After several amended cross-complaints and motions to dismiss, the school district was dismissed with prejudice from the county’s cross-complaint, and the individual cross-defendants were subsequently dismissed with an agreement of a waiver of costs. In addition, the county obtained summary judgment on the school district’s cross-complaint, as the school district had already been dismissed from the county’s cross-complaint. As for Erick’s parents’ underlying complaints against the school district, the principal and teacher’s aide, several causes of action were dismissed through those defendants’ motions to dismiss and by stipulation between the parties. Ultimately, the Los Angeles Unified School District, Huerta and Lopez prevailed on their respective motions for summary judgment on the remaining causes of action brought by the plaintiffs. Thus, Erick’s parents’ case continued solely against the county. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that swimmers at county pools are required to pass a swim test administered by a lifeguard before being allowed to use the diving boards or be in the deep end of the pool. However, no one was able to confirm whether Erick had been administered the swim test. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the county insufficiently trained its lifeguards on the use of emergency rescue equipment and failed to make the appropriate equipment available for the lifeguards. Specifically, counsel noted that although multiple lifeguards were at the scene, and two began performing chest compressions and administering CPR after pulling Erick from the bottom of the pool, a third lifeguard tried unsuccessfully to set up rescue equipment to deliver oxygen., Erick was found unconscious at the bottom of the deep end of the pool. Paramedics arrived and took over rescue efforts, but Erick never regained consciousness. He was declared dead a short time later at Monterey Park Hospital. It was determined that Erick had downed. Erick’s parents sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of their son.