At around 9 a.m. on May 6, 2015, plaintiffs’ decedent Richard Steinhart, 78, was driving on northbound Arnold Drive, also known as State Route 121, a single lane road in Sonoma County. Plaintiffs’ decedent Fay Steinhart, 72, was a front seat passenger in Mr. Steinhart’s vehicle. When they were just south of the intersection with Napa Road, their vehicle was struck head-on by a 2007 Chevy Silverado operated by Christopher Shuman, who was southbound on Arnold Drive. After Shuman negotiated a curve in the roadway, he crossed over the double-yellow lines and entered the northbound lane, where he struck the Steinharts and crushed their much smaller vehicle. Ms. Steinhart died at the scene and Mr. Steinhart died at a hospital a short time later. The decedents’ children, Brian Dabel and Bret Dabel, sued Shuman and the owner of the Chevy Silverado, Park Place Constructors Inc., which was also Shuman’s employer. The Dabels alleged that Shuman was negligent in the operation of the Chevy Silverado and that Park Place Constructors was vicariously liable for the actions of Shuman while he was in the course and scope of his employment with the company. Shuman and Park Place Constructors admitted liability for the incident., The Steinharts sustained multiple traumatic . Ms. Steinhart died at the scene. She was 72 years old. Mr. Steinhart was taken to a hospital, where he died a short time later. He was 78 years old. The Steinharts were married for more than 40 years. They were survived by their two adult sons, plaintiffs Bret Dabel, 52, and Brian Dabel, 47, as well as four grandchildren. Mr. Steinhart married Ms. Steinhart after she divorced her first husband and he became stepfather to Ms. Steinhart’s biological sons when Bret Dabel was 7 years old and Brian Dabel was 2 years old. When the collision occurred, the Steinharts were on their way from Bret Dabel’s house, where Mr. Steinhart was helping to complete a home remodeling project, and on their way to Brian Dabel’s house, where Mr. Steinhart was set to provide the same kind of assistance. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the families were extremely close, saw each other often and faithfully, and shared a unique bond. Defense counsel contended that the Dabels were precluded from recovering damages for Mr. Steinhart’s death, under C.C.P. § 377.60(a), California’s wrongful death statute, because they were not his biological children. However, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Probate Code § 6454 treats stepchildren as children for inheritance/intestate succession purposes in instances where the relationship began during the person’s minority and continued throughout the joint lifetimes of the person and the person’s foster parent or stepparent, and it is established by clear and convincing evidence that the foster parent or stepparent would have adopted the person, but for a legal barrier. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel asserted that the legal barrier was the Dabels’ biological father, with whom the Dabels had always maintained a healthy relationship, but that it was clear that the Dabels shared a special bond with Mr. Steinhart, who had raised them in his house, loved them as a father, and regarded them as his own children in every way.