Leyva

*1097 A fire in an upstairs apartment caused injuries to several tenants-plaintiffs Agustin Leyva, Agustin Leyva, Jr., Melissa Vidal, and Jazmine Aurora Vidal-who sued their landlord-defendant Abel Garcia-for alleged negligence. It was undisputed that the heat source of the fire's ignition was a gas wall heater in the upstairs apartment, but it was uncertain what actually caused the fire to ignite. One possibility was the heater malfunctioned; another was that plaintiffs placed combustible material too close to the heater. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on the ground plaintiffs were unable to establish causation, an essential element of a negligence cause of action. In support of the motion, defendant provided expert opinions of two fire investigators. Plaintiffs failed to produce any evidence in opposition to the motion. The trial court found defendant met his initial burden of showing plaintiffs could not prove causation, and thus the burden shifted to plaintiffs to set forth evidence demonstrating a triable issue *1098 of material fact. Since plaintiffs failed to do so, the trial court granted defendant's motion for summary judgment. Plaintiffs appeal from the…