On Dec. 10, 2016, plaintiff’s decedent Oliver Prinz von Anhalt, 52, an entrepreneur, was motorcycling on Mulholland Highway, near its intersection at April Road, in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County. His motorcycle struck one side of a sport utility vehicle that was being driven by Kristopher Walby, who was executing a left turn from the right shoulder of Mulholland Highway. Prinz von Anhalt suffered a fatal injury. Prinz von Anhalt’s mother, Gerda Bendig, and nephew, Rico Stoll, acting in behalf of Prinz von Anhalt’s estate, sued Walby; the SUV’s owner, Cappo Management XXVIII Inc., which operated as Marin County Ford; Cappo Management’s parent company, Victory Automotive Group Inc.; the SUV’s lessee, LaFontaine Automotive Group LLC; several related entities, LaFontaine Global LLC, LaFontaine Import Motors Inc., LaFontaine Volkswagen Inc. and LaFontaine Standby, LLC; an entity that had subleased the vehicle from the LaFontaine entities, GP Strategies Corp., which operated as GP Sandy; and the person listed as the SUV’s registered owner, Javier Gomez. The lawsuit alleged that Walby was negligent in the operation of his vehicle. The lawsuit further alleged that the remaining defendants were vicariously liable for Walby’s actions. The defendants filed cross-complaints against one another, seeking indemnification. Stoll was dismissed from the case, as were Gomez and Victory Automotive. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that Walby darted out from the shoulder and made a sudden left turn in front of Prinz von Anhalt’s motorcycle, essentially creating a roadblock in the center of the two-lane roadway. Plaintiff’s counsel noted that the SUV was being operated with dealer plates. Counsel contended that the LaFontaine entities violated laws and regulations, in that a dealer-owned, special-plate vehicle is not to be driven or rented to the public or an unknown user. Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that the LaFontaine entities, GP Strategies and Cappo Management each had a nondelegable duty to protect the dealer-plate SUV within the dealership and to not provide it for a fee for public use to unknown drivers. Plaintiff’s counsel asserted that Walby was illegally driving a dealer-owned/special-plate vehicle, which, according to federal regulations and state laws, was impermissible and subject to civil and criminal penalties. Cappo Management’s counsel contended that the dealership, Marin County Ford, leased the SUV to LaFontaine without any plates and that LaFontaine placed a Michigan dealer plate on the SUV, unbeknownst to Marin County Ford. Counsel also contended that LaFontaine leased the SUV to GP Strategies, which gave the SUV to Walby to use and drive across the state for in-dealership training, without the consent of Marin County Ford or the dealership’s operator, Cappo Management. Counsel for the LaFontaine entities asserted that Cappo Management knew of the lease agreement and that GP Strategies was the one that provided the SUV to Walby. Counsel asserted that the LaFontaine entities never knew who the end user would be. GP Strategies’ counsel asserted that GP Strategies knew nothing about where the SUV came from and thought that it was a legitimately registered vehicle. Each defendant’s counsel claimed that Walby was not the defendant companies’ employee, so those companies were immune from liability. They also asserted that Prinz von Anhalt could have avoided the collision, but that Prinz von Anhalt was traveling too fast for the conditions of the roadway., Prinz von Anhalt suffered numerous , including a head injury, multi-organ dysfunction, a hematoma and fractures of his pelvis, a laceration of his stomach, rib fractures with resultant pulmonary contusions, and a ruptured diaphragm. Prinz von Anhalt was taken from the scene by ambulance and brought to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, in Northridge. He suffered respiratory failure and had to be intubated. He required multiple surgeries. He died from complications related to his on Dec. 25, 2016. Prinz von Anhalt was the adopted son of Zsa Zsa Gabor and her husband, Frederic Prinz von Anhalt. He was survived by his biological mother and his nephew. Bendig sought recovery for the loss of love, companionship, comfort, care, assistance, protection, affection, society and moral support due to the her son’s wrongful death.