On Feb. 24, 2007, plaintiffs’ decedent Scott Ortiz was a passenger in an Arctic Cat Prowler, an off-road side-by-side vehicle manufactured by Arctic Cat Inc., which was being operated by its owner and operator, plaintiff Steven Yaegle. While they were at a popular off-roading area near 140th Street in California City, they were involved in a roll-over accident. Ortiz and Yaegle were not wearing the available Prowler seat belts nor were they wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Both men were ejected from the vehicle during the roll over and sustained serious , including a neck fracture that rendered Ortiz a paraplegic. Ortiz subsequently passed away in June 2010. Ortiz’s wife, plaintiff Gwynne Ortiz; his sons, plaintiffs Caiden Ortiz and Christian Ortiz; and Yaegle sued Arctic Cat and the off-road vehicle dealer, Prestige Golf Cars Inc. They alleged that the defendants were liable for Yaegle’s and Ortiz’s wrongful death. Prestige Golf Cars was ultimately let out of the case by settling with the Ortiz plaintiffs at trial. The dealer had a cross-complaint against Yaegle, which it dismissed in return for Yaegle dismissing his complaint against it. Thus, the matter continued against Arctic Cat only, alleging that it was negligent for its product’s design defect. The plaintiffs claimed that the Prowler’s improper stability and occupant restraint system caused the accident. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the off-road vehicle was designed by Arctic Cat without an adequate restraint system and that the Prowler should have been equipped with 4-point harnesses, rather than the 2-point lap belts that came stock on the vehicle. Arctic Cat’s counsel noted that despite numerous warnings on the Prowler and in the operator’s manual, neither Yaegle nor Ortiz were wearing the available Prowler seat belts nor were they wearing helmets at the time of the accident. Counsel contended that the cause of the accident was a combination of the size of the hole they hit and the speed at which Yaegle was operating the Prowler. Counsel presented evidence that the Prowler is a stable, well-designed vehicle that went through three years of development and testing prior to it ever being sold to the public. Arctic Cat’s counsel also presented evidence that had Yaegle and Ortiz been wearing the available Prowler seat belts and helmets at the time of the accident, they would not have sustained their serious ., Ortiz sustained bilateral lamina fractures at C5, C6 and C7, rendering him a paraplegic. He subsequently died over three years later, in June 2010. Ortiz was survived by his wife and his two sons. Ortiz’s family sought recovery of both economic and noneconomic damages, including, but not limited to, past medical expenses, past and future lost earnings, past and future loss of consortium, and funeral/burial expenses. The Ortiz plaintiffs also sought recovery of punitive damages. Yaegle sustained multiple, right-sided rib fractures. He sought recovery of both economic and noneconomic damages, including, but not limited to, past medical expenses, past lost earnings, property damage to the subject Prowler, and past and future noneconomic damages. He also sought recovery of punitive damages.