In October 2014, plaintiff Chris Curry, 34, a self-employed graphic designer and video editor, moved into Villa California Apartments, in North Hollywood, which is an apartment complex with three elevators and no ground floor units. Curry, who has a condition that has left him completely reliant on an electric wheelchair for mobility since infancy, claimed that one of the complex’s three elevators was inoperable for a year. He also claimed that at around the beginning of 2015, a second elevator started malfunctioning fairly frequently with the third elevator following with problems by July 2015. At first, Curry would call the maintenance worker to turn the elevator on whenever he needed to go up- or downstairs, but, later, the maintenance worker stopped responding. Curry claimed that he ultimately found himself stranded outside or inside his apartment on numerous occasions. He alleged that as a result, he had no choice but to call the fire department to carry him and his wheelchair up the stairs over six times, which he found both terrifying and humiliating. In addition, he claimed that during the Thanksgiving weekend of 2015, he was stranded upstairs in his apartment. Curry sued the owner of the apartment complex, Academy Pointe Inc.; the property management company, Anza Management Co.; another property management company, Statewide Enterprises Inc.; and the asset manager for Academy Pointe Inc., J.K. Residential Services Inc. Curry alleged that the defendants denied, or aided in a denial of, full and equal accommodations, facilities, or services in violation of the Fair Employment and Housing Act and the Unruh Civil Rights Act. Statewide Enterprises was ultimately let out of the case after agreeing to a confidential settlement with Curry. Curry maintained that a major reason for his decision to move to the complex, besides the affordable rent, was because the complex had three elevators. He also maintained that although the complex did not have any ground floor units, he figured that at least one elevator would always be working. However, Curry contended that the problems with the elevators had been developing over the past several years, but the owners could not be bothered with fixing them. He also contended that the complex has 211 units and collects over $270,000 a month in rent and that the total cost to fix the elevators was $26,000, which was less than 10 percent of one month’s rent. However, he contended that the defendants only took some action in August 2015, after the complex was cited twice by the city of Los Angeles for failing to have a working elevator, and that even then, it took the defendants about four months to get all three elevators fixed. Defense counsel contended that one elevator was always working and that even if it was not, all three elevators were only down for very short periods of time. However, plaintiff’s counsel noted that there was documentary evidence in the form of emails and citations from the city of Los Angeles that contradicted the defendants’ claim that all three elevators were never down simultaneously. In addition, the emails and citations that were all admitted into evidence by stipulation allegedly showed that the elevators had been in a state of disrepair going all the way back to 2011., Curry claimed that the defendants’ failure to accommodate his disability caused him emotional distress. Specifically, he claimed that being stranded outside or inside his apartment, being carried upstairs by the fire department, and being stranded inside his apartment for all of a Thanksgiving weekend took an emotional toll on him.