In the early morning of Nov. 22, 2009, plaintiffs’ decedent Michael Asam, 41, an electrical lineman for the City of Riverside, was driving a sport utility vehicle that was pulling a utility trailer on northbound Interstate 210. He was accompanied by his wife, Shannon Asam, 40, and three children, Brennan Asam, 14, Blaine Asam, 11, and Kylie Asam, 9. They were on their way to spend Thanksgiving with family in Oregon. At approximately 5:05 a.m., the Asam SUV left the roadway, just east of the Sunland Boulevard exit, and crashed into the rear of an 18-wheeler truck that was parked on the side of the road. Mr. Asam, Mrs. Asam and Brennan became pinned underneath the wreckage, while Blaine and Kylie were able to escape the vehicle through a broken rear window. Blaine and Kylie then attempted to free their mother from the vehicle, when a fire started in the engine compartment of the SUV and began to spread. The children flagged down a motorist, who attempted to stop the fire with a fire extinguisher and by shoveling dirt onto the engine. The motorist also made two emergency calls, but after 10 minutes, the fire spread, resulting in the deaths of Mr. Asam, Mrs. Asam and Brennan. Blaine and Kylie claimed they witnessed the vehicle burning as their family members remained trapped inside. Blaine and Kylie, by and through their guardian ad litem David Asam, their grandfather, sued the operator of the 18-wheeler, Rudolph Ortiz; the owner of the 18-wheeler and Ortiz’s employer, Bhandal Bros Trucking Inc.; and the owner of Bhandal Bros, Manghai Bhandal. Blaine and Kylie alleged Ortiz was negligent in the stopping of the 18-wheeler, and that Bhandal Bros and Manghai Bhandal were vicariously liable for Ortiz’s actions. Thus, they claimed that the defendants were liable for the wrongful death of their father, mother and older brother. Bhandal Bros and Ortiz subsequently filed a third-party complaint against General Motors, Mirage Enterprises, and Falken Tire. The claim against Manghai Bhandal, the individual, was dismissed early in the proceedings, and the third-party defendants filed motions for summary judgment. Bhandal Bros and Ortiz ultimately dismissed their third-party claim without prejudice. In addition, Blaine passed away on June 6, 2013, and a stipulation was read to the jury that Blaine was deceased, but that his death was unrelated to the case and that the jury was not to speculate further on the matter. Thus, Kylie proceeded to trial on her wrongful death and negligent infliction of emotional distress claims against Bhandal Bros and Ortiz, and on behalf of Blaine’s claim as a successor-in-interest. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that while the Asam SUV was traveling on the 210 Freeway, it struck a piece of roadway debris, causing the left front tire of the trailer to lose pressure. Counsel contended that as a result, Mr. Asam made an emergency maneuver to get off onto the shoulder, just east of the Sunland Boulevard exit, and crashed into the rear of Ortiz’s 18-wheeler truck, which was parked on the side of the road. Plaintiffs’ counsel noted that Ortiz did not obtain his commercial truck driver license until two years before the accident, at age 72, and that prior to working for Bhandal Bros, Ortiz had two other commercial truck driving jobs within the span of 11 months. Counsel also contended that Ortiz had the opportunity to exit the freeway and sleep at numerous locations, but failed to do so. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Ortiz was negligent for parking his 18-wheeler on the shoulder of the northbound 210 Freeway to sleep despite written warnings that stopping in the area was only allowed for emergencies. Counsel also argued that Ortiz was parked with all external vehicle lights and reflectors off, in violation of State and Federal safety regulations, and that as a result, Mr. Asam failed to see the truck in the darkness when he pulled over to the shoulder. Counsel further argued that Ortiz destroyed his driver logs later that day, which included evidence of how much sleep he had received prior to the accident. As a result, the jury received a spoliation-of-evidence instruction from the judge on this matter. Ortiz, who was 73 at the time of the accident, claimed that shortly before the crash, at approximately 5 a.m., he pulled over and parked on the dirt adjacent to the shoulder. He alleged that he was parked 3 feet to the right of the shoulder and that he was not in violation of the “emergency parking only” law because it only applied to the 10-foot shoulder. He also alleged that he intended to sleep at a truck stop in Castaic, less than 25 miles from the accident scene, and that he only pulled over briefly to urinate and take some medication for his headache. Ortiz claimed that as a result, he turned off his truck’s headlights, but left on his running lights, navigation lights and taillights. He also claimed he believed he left his flashers on and was not there long enough to put out reflective triangles. Defense counsel contended that, according to the truck’s electronic data recorder, Ortiz was stopped for less than five minutes before the accident occurred. Ortiz claimed that after feeling the impact and gathering himself, he exited the cab and, upon seeing the fire, ran to get his fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the fire, but to no avail. Defense counsel argued that plaintiffs’ counsel failed to meet their burden of proof. Counsel contended that Mr. Asam experienced microsleep — a temporary episode of sleep that can last a couple of seconds — and drifted off of the roadway, resulting in the collision. Counsel argued that there was no evidence of any such roadway debris ever found and that police believed the Mr. Asam’s trailer tire damage was sustained during the collision sequence. Counsel further contended that Ortiz was parked on the dirt to the right of the shoulder, and that he stopped due to a headache. Thus, defense counsel argued that Ortiz was required by Federal law to stop driving if his illness was interfering with his ability to drive and that Ortiz pulled over to the far right, leaving 13 feet for another vehicle to pull into the emergency parking lane, if needed. Counsel also argued that plaintiffs’ counsel offered no evidence that the truck’s lights or flashers were off prior to the accident, and contended that the lights and flashers were destroyed by the collision and immediate fire that developed below the trailer, where the wiring for the lights was located. Defense counsel further argued that plaintiffs’ counsel offered no evidence of any safer location Ortiz should have stopped at. In addition, defense counsel contended that Ortiz turned over his logs to police, both at the scene and upon the police’s further request by fax in the days following the accident. Counsel further contended that the logs were produced in discovery and that there was no evidence to suggest that Ortiz had destroyed them. In response, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Ortiz changed his story multiple times, originally claiming that he pulled over to sleep, while telling the investigating officer that he stopped to urinate. Counsel argued that the defense’s trial testimony that Ortiz had a headache was the third version. Plaintiffs’ counsel also disputed Ortiz’s claim that he exited the truck after gathering himself and that he attempted to put out the fire with his fire extinguisher, and argued that Ortiz, instead, remained inside the cab of the truck until 15 minutes after the stopped motorist made a second 911 call. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel argued that Ortiz lacked credibility. In addition, the plaintiffs’ biomechanics expert testified that even if Mr. Asam had fallen asleep at the wheel, it would not have been a fatal accident, but for the fact that Ortiz was parked illegally on the shoulder. Regarding plaintiffs’ counsel’s allegation that Ortiz changed his story, defense counsel responded that Ortiz never completed his interview on-scene with the investigating officer, as Ortiz was transported to the hospital for treatment of chest pains. Defense counsel argued that Ortiz consistently stated that he pulled over to both take medication for his headache and to urinate, and that this is what Ortiz told the investigating officer when he called Ortiz the day after the accident. Ortiz claimed he also told this to his employer, wife, and another investigator who called him after the accident, as well as testified to this at both his deposition and trial., Following the accident, Michael, Shannon and Brennan Asam remained pinned underneath the wreckage of their vehicle when a fire started in the engine compartment and quickly spread, resulting in their deaths. Mr. Asam was 41, his wife was 40 and his eldest son was 14. Blaine, who was also in the vehicle at the time of the accident, later died of related causes. Thus, Mr. Asam, Mrs. Asam and Brennan are survived by the youngest child, Kylie. Kylie claimed that she suffers emotional distress based on the knowledge that her family’s vehicle was burning while her parents and older brother remained trapped inside. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asked the jury to award Kylie, individually and on behalf of Blaine’s estate, $130 million in total damages, including wrongful death damages for Kylie’s parents and brother, Brennan, as well as damages for the negligent infliction of Kylie’s emotional distress. Economic damages were waived at trial.