Opinion
13021N Index No. 20148/15 Case No. 2020-02577
02-02-2021
Esperanza PEREZ, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. TABLE RUN ESTATES, INC., et al., Defendants–Respondents.
Burns & Harris, New York (Judith F. Stempler of counsel), for appellant. Capehart & Scatchard, P.A., New York (Alyson L. Knipe of counsel), for respondents.
Burns & Harris, New York (Judith F. Stempler of counsel), for appellant.
Capehart & Scatchard, P.A., New York (Alyson L. Knipe of counsel), for respondents.
Renwick, J.P., Webber, Gonza´lez, Scarpulla, JJ.
Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Donna M. Mills, J.), entered December 18, 2019, which granted defendants’ motion to vacate the default judgment against defendants Table Run Estates and Condetta Brown Desgoutte, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
A party seeking to vacate a judgment entered upon default under CPLR 5015(a)(1) must show a reasonable excuse for the default as well as a potentially meritorious defense (see Leader v. Parkside Group , 174 A.D.3d 420, 103 N.Y.S.3d 427 [1st Dept. 2019], lv dismissed 33 N.Y.3d 1111, 106 N.Y.S.3d 703, 130 N.E.3d 1313 [2019] ). Here, the court providently determined that defendants provided a reasonable excuse for their failure to appear for conferences and depositions scheduled in the action, which led to their answer being stricken, based on the neglect of their attorney, who was suspended and then disbarred from the practice of law during the pendency of the proceedings, based in part on complaints concerning his neglect of matters and failure to communicate with other clients (see Matter of Thomas , 155 A.D.3d 61, 62 N.Y.S.3d 355 [1st Dept. 2017] ; Matter of Thomas , 162 A.D.3d 1, 76 N.Y.S.3d 159 [1st Dept. 2018] ). Defendants also demonstrated a potentially meritorious defense to the slip-and-fall action through Ms. Desgoutte's affidavit.
Furthermore, plaintiff points to no evidence that she incurred any prejudice. Accordingly, in view of the strong public policy of disposing of cases on their merits, the motion court providently exercised its discretion in granting defendants' motion to vacate the judgment (see Matter of Rivera v. New York City Dept. of Sanitation, 142 A.D.3d 463, 465, 36 N.Y.S.3d 464 [1st Dept. 2016] ).