Kaushansky v. Stonecroft Attorneys, APC (2025)

Citation: Kaushansky v. Stonecroft Attorneys, APC (2025)
Parent Document: Kaushansky v. Stonecroft Attorneys, APC (2025)
Jurisdiction: California (state)
Effective Date: 2025-03-14
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/10356658/kaushansky-v-stonecroft-attorneys-apc/ ↗

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above. She provided expert testimony regarding the deficiencies
in Stonecroft’s representation of Kaushansky, including that it
failed to propound or timely respond to discovery, failed to allege
all the causes of action available to Kaushansky, and violated its
fiduciary duty to Kaushansky at the time it withdrew from the
representation.
       Akhidenor, the sole principal of Stonecroft, also testified.
He recalled Kaushansky brought three issues to his attention at
their first meeting: a faulty doorknob, a stain in the carpet, and
toilets blocking her vehicle. Later, after Kaushansky agreed to
retain him, she told him there were plumbing and other issues
during her tenancy but failed to elaborate or provide evidence of
these issues.
       It was Akhidenor’s position at trial that Kaushansky
prevented him from adequately litigating her case. He asserted
Kaushansky failed to bring any evidence to him, including a copy
of her lease or written requests for repairs, or the identities of
other tenants with similar issues, during the course of the
litigation. He stated he was required to get approval from her for
everything he did in the case, including propounding discovery,
but she was not often available due to her work. As a result, he
drafted discovery but never sent it out because she had not
approved it. He testified he experienced the same obstacles with
scheduling her deposition and responding to discovery. He
further testified it was his trial strategy to wait until the defense
had completed its discovery before conducting his own discovery
to keep costs down. Later in his testimony, Akhidenor
acknowledged Kaushansky provided him with work requests and
other evidence of her issues with the landlord.

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