Li v. Tzen CA2/4

Filed 8/22/25 Li v. Tzen CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(a). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115(a).

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT DIVISION FOUR

CHANGJIAO LI et al., B333693

Plaintiffs and Appellants, Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. v. 22AHCV00125 SHIRLEY TZEN et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Margaret L. Oldendorf, Judge. Affirmed. Changjiao Li and Haibo Zhou, in pro per., for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Shirley Tzen, in pro per., for Defendants and Respondents.

Appellants and plaintiffs Changjiao Li and her son, Haibou Zhou, sued their landlord, Shirley Tzen (Tzen) for breach of contract. They also asserted an intentional tort cause of action against Tzen, her husband, Michael Tzen, and her son, Leo Wang.1 Following a bench trial, the trial court entered judgment for defendants, finding plaintiffs failed to prove the essential elements of their asserted claims. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs live in the back unit of a dwelling located at 8508 Fransden Street in San Gabriel. Zhou testified that they rented the unit from Tzen for $1,000 per month, which included utilities. Until April 2021, Tzen lived in the front unit at the same address. Plaintiffs’ complaint catalogues a long list of grievances against defendants. In their breach of contract cause of action, they allege Tzen breached a lease by removing a gate they used, blocking their unit’s exit and parking spaces, threatening to shut off their power, refusing to pay for their internet service, and failing to repair their washing machine. In their intentional tort cause of action, they allege defendants harassed them in various ways, which resulted in “great mental stress” causing their “health conditions . . . [to] deteriorate[ ] sharply.” For example, Li claims that the harassment caused her body to “exhale quite unpleasant smell.” At the conclusion of the bench trial, the trial court ruled in defendants’ favor. With respect to their breach of contract claim,

1 Xiangrui Zhou, Haibo Zhou’s father, is also named as a plaintiff in the complaint. Before the trial, he died and was dismissed by the trial court.