Maxwell

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

The trial court recited the following evidence in its order granting summary adjudication, based on plaintiffs’ separate statement of undisputed material facts: Defendant converted the lower portion of her residence into a rental unit in 1990. She neither sought nor received the necessary permits, inspections, or certificate of occupancy for the rental unit. The rental unit violated fire prevention provisions of the locally adopted Uniform Building Code (building code), requiring exterior walls within three feet of a property line to be one-hour fire rated and prohibiting windows in such walls. Defendant acknowledged that her property and plaintiffs’ property shared a “zero lot- line.” It appears from the record that an exterior wall of defendant’s structure was within three feet of the shared property line. A fire started in defendant’s rental unit at about 4:00 a.m. According to defendant’s deposition testimony, the fire completely engulfed her house and spread to plaintiffs’ home within 15 minutes. When firefighters arrived, the fire had already spread through the rental unit’s windows and ignited plaintiffs’ adjacent residence. Despite firefighters’…