Santizo

I. BACKGROUND

In October 2013, Maria leased residential property she owned in Santa Fe Springs, California, to Veronica Bonilla (Bonilla) and her family, which included her son Dominique who was 15 years old at the time. On the property were a three- bedroom house, a one-car garage, and an open-ended, covered storage shed that was attached to the garage. In signing the lease, Bonilla affirmed she had inspected the property, its furnishings, and equipment and found them to be “satisfactory and in good working order.” The lease required Maria, at her sole cost and expense, to maintain the property’s air conditioning system and “water lines,” among other things. The lease also limited Maria and her agent’s right to enter the property to certain specified circumstances, such as making necessary or agreed-upon repairs. In addition, the lease provided

2 for “quarterly walk-[throughs]” by Maria or her agent during the first year of the lease and “bi-yearly thereafter.”

A. Things Go Wrong with the Fire Pit, and Plaintiff Later Sues Two and a half years later, in the evening on May 22, 2016, Dominique hosted a small high school graduation party at the property. Plaintiff was among…