Lopez

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Tenancy and Unlawful Detainer Proceedings Peter Alevizos and Kathleen Alevizos are the owners of an apartment building located in Walnut Creek; the building is managed by Ramin Moosa and Tatiana DaMatta. We shall refer to the owners and the managers collectively as defendants and individually where appropriate.

1 All undesignated statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.

1 Ana Lopez, her sister, Maria Lopez, and Ana‘s teenage daughter (plaintiffs) were tenants in the building from December 2004 to December 2011. 2 Plaintiffs claim that throughout the tenancy, the sliding glass door in the master bedroom leaked and accumulated mold. On August 17, 2011, plaintiffs complained about a leak in the bedroom. Defendants investigated and found that the carpet in the bedroom was wet. They hired a plumber, removed the furnishings from the room, and pulled up the saturated carpet. The plumber advised that the cause of the leak was not apparent, and that the apartment would have to be vacated for the investigation and repair to proceed. Defendants allegedly attempted to negotiate with plaintiffs about relocating them either…