In November 2009, plaintiff Daniel Lineberger, 24, a commercial signage project manager, purchased what he believed to be a natural and steroid free dietary supplement in Ontario, Calif., from Max Muscle Rancho Cucamonga, a franchisee/licensee of Peak Franchising Inc. The product he purchased, entitled “Epio-Plex,” was a supplement distributed by Diabolic Labs, LLC, as well as contract-manufactured by June & Johnny LLC. The product is described as a “dry stack, designed to give the user dry mass and strength gains.” According to Lineberger, he developed acute liver and kidney failure after ingesting the supplement for one month, and was forced to undergo emergency surgery. Epio-Plex was ultimately recalled by the Food and Drug Administration in 2009, due to the presence of anabolic steroids in the product. Lineberger sued the parties involved with the manufacture, distribution and retail of the supplement. Included as defendants in the action were Max Muscle Marketing Inc.; Joe Wells Enterprises Inc., which was doing business as Max Muscle; Diabolic Labs, LLC; the designer/distributor of the product, Max Muscle Rancho Cucamonga; the owner of Max Muscle Rancho Cucamonga, Andrew Hernandez; an employee of Max Muscle Rancho Cucamonga, Chris Sanchez; and Peak Franchising. June & Johnny, LLC and its owners, William Mellors and Shala Mellors, were named as “Doe” defendants later in the litigation, after June & Johnny, LLC’s role as the contract manufacturer was discovered. In addition, several other parties were added to the case, but, ultimately, they were variously dismissed because they provided declarations of non-involvement in the product and/or turned out to be non-legal entities. Plaintiff’s counsel contended that the defendants were strictly liable for selling a product that contained several “designer steroids,” known to be hepatotoxic. Counsel asserted that the defendants knew that the product was defective and dangerous, but chose to misrepresent the ingredients and safety of the products and sell it knowing that there were dangerous elements present in the supplement. Prior to the resolution of the case, Diabolic Labs filed for bankruptcy. Thus, it had virtually no assets or insurance as a result of the bankruptcy., Lineberger claimed he became sick after ingesting the drug for approximately one month and was taken to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with hepatorenal syndrome, which is progressive kidney failure in a person with cirrhosis of the liver. As a result of acute liver and kidney failure, Lineberger ultimately arrived at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, in Baltimore, where he underwent an emergency liver and kidney transplant. After the surgery, Lineberger developed a post-operative cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and coagulation disorders due to the donor organs he received. As a result, he required additional hospitalization. Lineberger claimed that due to his organ failure, he is required to take anti-rejection medications for the remainder of his life. He also claimed that he faces the possibility of additional transplant surgeries due to his young age. Thus, Lineberger sought recovery of $640,000 in past medical costs, $2,156,000 in projected future medical costs, and an unspecified amount of damages for his past and future pain and suffering.