During the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 28, 2010, plaintiffs’ decedent Randy Hernandez, 20, was operating a Land Rover on southbound Harbor Freeway, also known as Interstate 110, in downtown Los Angeles, when his vehicle impacted a Cadillac operated by Eric Lauderdale. As a result, each vehicle became disabled in the number one/fast lane of the freeway. Hernandez’s Land Rover came to rest about 100 feet south of Lauderdale’s Cadillac with its headlights pointing north. Lauderdale’s Cadillac was located north of Hernandez’s Land Rover, in the number one lane with its headlights on. County of Los Angeles Deputy Ted Broadston, who was driving an unmarked, non-patrol Crown Victoria, ultimately came upon the accident. Lauderdale claimed that at the time, he and Hernandez were standing in front of the Land Rover, sharing a soda, when the Crown Victoria came on scene. However, Broadston claimed he did not see the disabled Cadillac. As a result, Broadston’s vehicle struck the right, rear of Lauderdale’s Cadillac at full speed, which then fatally struck Hernandez, who had previously exited his Land Rover and was allegedly standing between it and the median barrier. Eyewitnesses said that Lauderdale’s Cadillac’s emergency flashers were on at the time of the accident. The decedent’s minor daughter, plaintiff Jocelyn Hernandez,by and through her guardian ad litem, Debbie Casteneda, and the decedent’s mother, Marta Hernandez, sued Broadston and his employer, the county of Los Angeles (which was initially erroneously sued as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department). The decedent’s family alleged that Broadston was negligent in the operation of his vehicle and that the county was vicariously liable for Broadson’s actions. She also alleged that the defendants were liable for the decedent’s wrongful death. Lauderdale was not a party to the lawsuit. He had no insurance or assets, and he was unavailable for trial other than providing a videotaped deposition from Los Angeles County jail (where he was serving time for a parole violation). The county of Los Angeles originally named the estate of Randy Hernandez as a defendant in a counterclaim, but it ultimately dismissed the claim ahead of trial. Broadston was also voluntarily dismissed as a defendant ahead of trial. On April 16, 2012, a jury found that the county and Sheriff’s Department were 51 percent liable for the decedent’s death. It also found Lauderdale 35 percent liable and the decedent 14 percent liable. The jury awarded Jocelyn $550,000 in total damages. However, the jury also found that Marta Hernandez was not dependent on the decedent and lacked standing to bring a claim for wrongful death. Jocelyn’s counsel ultimately filed an appeal based on evidence of the decedent’s marijuana usage being admitted into evidence over objections. (Marta Hernandez did not appeal the jury’s decision about her claims.) The Court of Appeal found that the evidence of marijuana should not have been admitted and subsequently ordered a retrial. During the retrial, plaintiff’s counsel argued that Broadston was speeding, traveling at 82 mph, and/or he failed to keep a proper lookout. Counsel contended that Broadston should have seen the headlights and emergency flashers in the number one lane ahead of him and had enough time to take evasive actions, if he had been driving slower. All experts acknowledged that the decedent’s Land Rover was not struck by Broadston’s vehicle and that had the decedent remained in the Land Rover, he would not have been harmed. Broadston claimed that he was traveling between 55 and 60 mph and that he had just checked his speedometer before the accident. He also claimed that he could not remember seeing headlights or emergency flashers in the lane in front of him. The defense’s accident reconstruction expert opined that Broadston could have been traveling between 55 and 60 mph and that the accident still would have been unavoidable. He testified that Broadston would not have had sufficient time to avoid a stopped vehicle in the number one lane of the freeway in the pre-dawn hours and that Lauderdale’s Cadillac would have been “washed out” by the decedent’s Land Rover’s headlights, which were facing north in the southbound lane. Defense counsel contended that, coincidentally, an off-duty deputy in his own truck hit Lauderdale’s Cadillac shortly after Broadston had struck Lauderdale’s vehicle, demonstrating the difficulty it was in avoiding Lauderdale’s Cadillac. Counsel called to the stand the off-duty deputy, who testified that he could not remember seeing headlights or emergency flashers in the lane in front of him. In addition, defense counsel argued that the decedent negligently exited his vehicle, allowing him to be hit by the struck vehicle. Thus, counsel argued that neither Broadston nor the county was liable for the accident and that the decedent and Lauderdale were 100 percent responsible for the collision and the decedent’s death., Randy Hernandez was struck by Lauderdale’s vehicle after it was struck by Broadston. Hernandez subsequently sustained multiple traumatic and died at the scene. He was 20 years old. He was survived by his daughter, Jocelyn, who was 2.5-years-old at time of her father’s death. (She was 7-years-old at the time of retrial.) Jocelyn’s mother, Debbie Casteneda, was not married the Hernandez at the time of the accident and he was living with his mother, Marta Hernandez, while Jocelyn was living with her mother. Castaneda claimed that the decedent would see Jocelyn once a week and on days off, and would also speak with her on the phone every night. She also claimed that the decedent provided approximately $300 a month to help care for Jocelyn. Thus, Castaneda sought recovery of only non-economic damages on behalf of Jocelyn for the wrongful death of Jocelyn’s father.