On July 11, 2011, plaintiff Michael Magnan, 30, an Iraq War Veteran and salesman with Primerica, was attempting to leave a note outside of a Stockton home owned by Rafael Ruiz Jr. when Magnan was attacked by a Ruiz’s pit bull. Magnan previously approached Ruiz randomly at a Costco store in Tracy in the hopes of recruiting Ruiz to sell insurance for Primerica. As a result, Magnan was to “close the deal” at Ruiz’s home on July 11, 2011. As Magnan approached the front gate to Ruiz’s property, he noticed a large “Beware of Dog” sign attached to the fence a few inches from the gate itself. The yard was clearly visible thought the iron fencing and Magnan opened the latch on the gate by reaching inside of Ruiz’s property. After opening the gate, he walked up the walkway to the front door and knocked on the house, but after realizing that Ruiz was not home, Magnan began writing a “sorry I missed you” note while on the front porch. However, while he was writing the note, he noticed Chopper, Ruiz’s 135-pound pit bull, out of the corner of his eye. When the animal slowly approached him in an allegedly “menacing”, crouched position, Magnan attempted to “dog talk” to Chopper, but was not successful. Chopper then leapt up and bit Magnan in the right forearm. Being a decorated Marine Veteran of the Iraq Conflict, Magnan used his training to “punch” Chopper in the “nose”, causing the animal to be “momentarily stunned.” Chopper then released his grip on Magnan, who began a rapid retreat off Ruiz’s property. Magnan sued Ruiz. Magnan alleged that Ruiz was negligent and strictly liable for the attack under California’s “Dog Bite Statue.” Magnan claimed that he came over to meet Ruiz at the appointed time and “did nothing wrong,” but that Ruiz’s dog attacked him without being provoked. He alleged that he assumed that Ruiz would have “tied up his dog” like all of his other Primerica contacts do and denied that Ruiz told him to call first because he has a dog he needed to tie up. Thus, Magnan claimed that since he did nothing wrong, Ruiz was entirely at fault for the attack. Defense counsel took issue with Magnan’s repeated contentions that he “did nothing wrong,” and argued that Magnan was the sole cause of the incident. Counsel further argued that Magnan was at least comparatively at fault for the incident since Magnan assumed the risk under the Secondary Assumption of Risk doctrine. Defense counsel contended that the neighborhood where Ruiz’s house was located was predominated by yards protected by iron or chain link fences, and that evidence indicated that the area was a “high crime” neighborhood in Stockton, outside the jurisdiction of the Stockton Police. Counsel also contended that many guard dogs resided on that street and that gang violence was prevalent. In addition, counsel introduced evidence of the many indicia of a crime-ridden neighborhood, including other attack dogs, steel gates on all properties, a clear and unequivocal warning sign indicating the need to “beware of” a dog. Thus, defense counsel argued that Magnan ignored these warning signs, as well as his own safety, due to his preoccupation with making money off of Ruiz. Counsel noted that Magnan would approach strangers and ask them if they were interested in “making more money,” which was described as an “exciting new opportunity,” and that at their initial meeting, Magnan set up two meetings to “close” the “pitch” after Ruiz indicated that he was interested. As a result, counsel contended that Magnan had a financial stake in any new business (insurance products) brought in by anyone he recruited. However, Magnan denied that his business offer was a pyramid scheme on the basis that he took no “immediate” profit from the initial “sign up” of a recruit. Defense counsel argued that regardless of why Magnan wanted to meet with Ruiz on the day of the incident, Magnan’s decision to enter the property constituted negligent conduct, as Magnan ignored the warnings signs and failed to call Ruiz on his cell phone as he stood on the sidewalk, outside of the gate, waiting to enter. Ruiz also testified that he thought that Magnan was not going to come over and left his home a few minutes before the agreed upon meeting time since the Magnan had not called to confirm the meeting. Defense counsel further argued that Magnan negligently opened the metal latch on Ruiz’s gate by pulling out a steel bolt that was in place to “stop people” who might want to walk into the yard. However, at trial, Magnan denied pulling a bolt on Ruiz’s gate. In addition, defense counsel argued that Magnan was negligent by failing to whistle or make any other noise to attract a dog, and, in fact, did nothing at all to test whether there might be a dog as suggested by the sign. The jury was ultimately instructed on both comparative fault and assumption of risk., Magnan sustained puncture wounds to his right forearm as a result of the dog bite. He subsequently drove himself to a hospital, but later went to the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Livermore after his wounds became infected. As a result, he was hospitalized in the V.A. Hospital with intensive antibiotic drips for three days. Magnan, who is ambidextrous, claimed numbness and tingling in his right arm as a result of his . The plaintiff’s neurology expert testified that Magnan will suffer a lifelong ulnar nerve injury that would affect his fingers and the topical region of the wound. Thus, plaintiff’s counsel asked the jury to award Magnan $300,000 in damages, including $48,000 for medical bills that Magnan had incurred at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Livermore and an unspecified amount of damages for his pain and suffering. Defense counsel was overtly critical of Magnan’s extensive testimony regarding his alleged heroism in Iraq; his knowledge and use of grenade launchers, machine guns and tank cannons; and his killing of people in Iraq. Counsel argued that this testimony had nothing to do with a dog bite case in Stockton. In addition, the defense’s hand surgery expert disputed the cause of Magnan’s alleged nerve injury and testified that Magnan suffered a lifelong orthopedic injury of an unspecified origin, rather than a compromise of the ulnar nerve.