Duncan

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL

BACKGROUND

We set forth the underlying facts of the case in Duncan I and need only briefly summarize them here. Duncan and Mendoza lived together with their daughter in a rent-controlled apartment in a building on Hill Street in San Francisco. Kihagi and Mwangi are members of Zoriall, which purchased the

1 Hill Street building in May 2014. The landlords soon began taking away benefits that previously had been provided to the tenants; were uncommunicative, uncooperative, and hostile with the tenants; and eventually initiated wrongful owner move-in proceedings against the tenants, which forced them from their home about 14 months after Zoriall purchased the property. Duncan and Mendoza spoke with a law firm, and the firm agreed to represent them on a contingent-fee basis. Duncan and Mendoza sued the landlords in May 2015, when the couple were still living in their unit. The original complaint (No. CGC 15-545655) included allegations that the landlords removed housing services and there were habitability defects in the tenants’ unit. The complaint alleged causes of action for nuisance; breach of contract; negligence; violation of San Francisco’s…