Vaughn

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs and respondents Jack Vaughn, Esmeralda Hernandez, Wayne Hart, Dennis Goldson, Carlos Rodriguez, and Ernest Johnson are long-time tenants of rental property (the property) located on Hyperion Avenue in Los Angeles. Defendants and appellants David Darwish and Barbara Darwish have worked together in the real estate field for many years, buying and selling properties, repairing and improving buildings, and managing properties, including apartment buildings and houses with tenants. Barbara and David2 participated in a foreclosure auction of the property in 2010, and, upon successfully bidding for the property, Barbara took title to the property as an individual. Thereafter, the property was conveyed to defendant and appellant Gingko Rose Ltd., a partnership in which Barbara and David have interests. Defendant and appellant Logerm LLC is the general partner of Gingko Rose Ltd.3 The first unlawful detainer action In September 2010, the City of Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety issued a “substandard order” on the property, finding that the property was being used as an unapproved boarding house and ordering the Darwishes to “[d]iscontinue the use and…