On June 19, 2011, plaintiff Mary Hess, 52, an electrician, was on her way to a friend’s house and decided to stop at Rushing Liquor, in the Point Loma area of San Diego, to buy a bottle of Tequila. At the friend’s house, they claimed, they each had one shot of the Tequila, and a few hours later, in the evening, they left for Hess’ home. Hess claimed they had forgotten to bring the bottle of Tequila, so they returned to the store to buy another. According to Hess, she had just left the store when she tripped on a stack of black industrial mats just outside the entrance. As she fell, her right hand struck the open metal door and/or the ground. She claimed she fractured the little finger of her right hand. Hess sued store owners Chung Hee Byun and Yong Byun, alleging the mats had been negligently left stacked by the door, creating a dangerous condition that caused her fall. She contended that a store clerk had placed the mats at the entrance while she was shopping. Hess’ safety expert testified that the mats, which Hess claimed had been piled up, created an unsafe condition, and that they should have been laid flat, instead. Defense counsel argued that the mats had been laid flat, but in any case, by Hess’ own testimony, she had seen them as an obvious hazard; even if they were considered unsafe, Hess had made the decision to walk toward them. Hess’ friend testified that Hess could have walked around the mats, the defense noted. The defense asserted that the store was not liable for any of Hess’ , because she had seen and voluntarily encountered the mats and may have been intoxicated at the time. The defense questioned Hess’ claim that she had drunk only one shot of Tequila and forgotten to bring the bottle, and suggested that she may have consumed the entire bottle with her friend. (According to Hess’ counsel, there was no evidence that Hess had been intoxicated, although the defense was allowed to infer that Hess may have been. The court denied plaintiff’s counsel’s motion in limine on the alcohol issue, along with several other motions in limine. The court also denied plaintiff’s counsel’s request for modified jury instructions regarding a sudden encounter of an obvious danger, and related issues.), Hess was taken that night by her friend to a local emergency room. She had closed reduction and realignment of a fracture of the little finger of her right (dominant) hand, and had her arm casted. She treated with physical therapy from June 20, 2011, until she had a fall from a bicycle, on Sept. 8, 2011, and re-injured the same finger. She asserted that after the initial fracture healed, she was left with limited range of motion and limited strength and overall function in her right hand from a muscle contracture and residual injury. Hess’ orthopedic surgery expert opined that she would require future surgery for her right hand, otherwise she would be on continued disability. Defense counsel argued that the need for future surgery could be related also to her second fall, from the bicycle.