On Oct. 23, 2011, plaintiff Luis Estrada, 14, a student at Ceres High School, which was located at 2320 Central Ave., in Ceres, spent his lunch period in the school’s quad area, where other students were gathered, including members of two gangs. A fight broke out between 14 gang-affiliated students, including one of Luis’ friends, plaintiff Basilio Ibarra, 14, also a student, who was allegedly stabbed during the altercation. As Luis stood behind his friend and watched the fight, he was allegedly punched in the back of the head by another student, causing to Luis’ jaw. Basilio’s father, Sergio Ibarra, acting individually and as his son’s guardian ad litem, sued the school’s operator, the Ceres Unified School District; a student involved in the fight, Julio Del La Torre; and a student who allegedly stabbed Basilio, Alejandro Ramirez Silva. Luis’ father, also named Luis Estrada, acting individually and as his son’s guardian ad litem, brought a separate suit against the Ceres Unified School District and Julio Del La Torre, who allegedly broke Luis’ jaw in the fight. The two suits were ultimately consolidated. The Ceres Unified School District subsequently filed a cross-complaint against Alejandro, and filed a third-party claim against Alejandro’s parents,Pricilliano Ramirez and Narcisa Silva. The school district alleged that Alejandro violated the school’s gang activity policy and Alejandro’s parents were liable for his actions. In late 2015, Basilio settled his claim against the school district for $35,000. In addition, plaintiffs’ counsel voluntarily discontinued the claims against Julio. Thus, the matter proceeded to trial against the Ceres Unified School District only. Luis’ counsel contended that the school district failed to provide adequate security, that its failure created an unsafe environment, and that the unsupervised environment allowed the situation to occur. Counsel also contended that the school district had notice of the gang member’s violence and history of violent behavior, but still failed to prevent the fight. Thus, Luis’ counsel argued that the school district failed to follow the very policies it authored regarding gang behavior in schools. Counsel also argued that the school district failed to properly position the lunch period aides in the appropriate parts of the quad, that the aides should have been positioned between the two known gangs, and that proper supervision could have allowed an aide to intervene and, therefore, prevent the incident. The plaintiff’s expert on school security opined that the school district failed to follow its own safety procedures and that if the district had followed its policy, the incident could have been avoided. Counsel for the Ceres Unified School District argued that the fight was instantaneous, so the school district and/or its personnel could not have prevented the fight. Counsel also argued that the school district’s personnel responded to the fight appropriately and diffused the fight in less than seven minutes. Thus, the school district’s counsel argued that Luis should have stayed away from the fight and that by doing so, Luis could have avoided the incident. The defense’s expert on school safety opined that the school district had the appropriate safety protocols in place, such as instructing the two gangs to sit a distance apart from one another and not allowing them to wear shirts that are affiliated with their gang’s colors. He also opined that the district adequately supervised students with gang-affiliations and that it was unreasonable to expect the district to supervise those students or follow them around the school building all day., Luis immediately complained of severe pain in his jaw after being punched in the back of the head. He was subsequently taken by ambulance to the emergency room at Kaiser Permanente-Modesto Medical Center, in Modesto, where he underwent X-rays. Luis was ultimately diagnosed with a bilateral mandibular fracture of his jaw. He was given pain medication and released from the hospital that day. Later that week, Luis underwent a surgery to have metal plates implanted in his jaw. After the procedure, his mouth was then wired shut for approximately one month. The plates in his jaw were never removed. Luis claimed that his jaw injury resulted in six months of pain and discomfort, and made food consumption difficult. He also claimed that while his fractures resolved, his jaw feels out of place and never returned to normal after the fight. Thus, Luis sought recovery of $115,000 in damages for his past medical costs and past pain and suffering. The school district’s counsel contended that Luis’ were addressed and resolved after the incident. Thus, counsel argued that Luis would not require any future treatment as a result of the incident.