This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Priscilla (P) arrived at a Capistrano Beach hotel. Priscilla and her husband, Michael (Ps), lived about an hour away and owned timeshare privileges at the hotel. The front desk clerk, Kora Mann, who was employed by the hotel, checked P into a room. At about 5:30 p.m., P's husband spoke to P by phone. At about 6:00 p.m., P spoke to her sister and told her that she was going to stay in for the evening. Starting at about 7:00 p.m., Michael repeatedly called P's cell phone, but she did not answer. Michael became concerned and called the front desk to find out which room Priscilla had checked into. Michael made three more calls, all of which went unanswered. Michael spoke to Mann and asked for her help in doing a welfare check. A maintenance worker (Saul Ramos) was standing right next to Mann at the front desk. Ramos was employed by D, an agency that supplied maintenance staff to the hotel. Mann told Michael that she would have Ramos check the room. Mann instructed Ramos to go to the room and see if Priscilla was there. Ramos understood that Michael was trying to find out whether his wife was in the room, and if she was there, why she was not answering the phone. Ramos had been working at the hotel for a year, but he had never before been asked to do a welfare check of a guest in a room. Ramos went to the room, knocked several times on the door, and announced, “Maintenance.” Ramos said that he opened the door, took one step into the room, and called out asking if anyone was there. He said that all the lights were off. Ramos said that when he stared into the dark room, he could only see the shapes of the furniture. Ramos returned to the front desk and told Mann that no one was in the room. Between 10:30 p.m. and 4:00 a.m., the next morning, Michael called a dozen more times. Michael decided to drive to the hotel. Michael entered the room at about 5:00 a.m. and noticed that the bedroom and bathroom lights were on. Michael heard labored breathing; he saw P lying on the living room floor. P had suffered a brain aneurysm. A doctor averred that P's injuries would have been less severe had she received treatment earlier in the evening. Ps filed a complaint for negligent undertaking. The trial court granted judgment to D. Ps appealed.

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