Korchemny

BACKGROUND

The General Setting, the Parties, and the Participants Milan and Dmitry Piterman were married in 1990. In December 2013, Milan filed a petition for legal separation, beginning a proceeding that respondents’ brief calls a “highly-contentious marital dissolution action,” a highly contentious action that has generated a 17-page register of actions— an action as best we understand it that continues to this day. Remi Korchemny (Korchemny), a close friend of Dmitry’s, filed a lawsuit against Dmitry, Milan, and Milan’s Freedom Trust (the trust) based on two promissory notes. Dmitry filed a cross-complaint against Milan and the trust. After years of extensive litigation, Milan and the trust obtained summary judgment against Korchemny based on their affirmative defense of usury. They were later awarded attorney fees. Korchemny appealed both the judgment and the attorney fee order and is the primary appellant in both appeals here. Milan and the trust are the respondents and when referred to collectively will sometimes be called respondents. Following their summary judgment, respondents obtained judgment on the pleadings against Dmitry on his cross-complaint. Dmitry appealed, and…