Opinion
December 11, 1989
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Nahman, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
As the plaintiff herein admittedly failed to appear on the October 12, 1988, return date of the defendant's application to punish him for contempt and he admittedly also failed to appear at a subsequent court-ordered hearing on November 14, 1988, we find that he was properly found to be in default. Since he failed to offer any reasonable excuse for his failure to appear or establish any showing of legal merit, his motion to vacate the order finding him in contempt was properly denied (see, Perellie v Crimson's Rest., 108 A.D.2d 903; Passalacqua v Banat, 103 A.D.2d 769; County Asphalt v North Rockland Underground Corp., 96 A.D.2d 570; Blake v City of New York, 90 A.D.2d 531).
We further find that the award of counsel fees to the defendant's attorney was properly made (see, Domestic Relations Law § 237; DeCabrera v Cabrera-Rosete, 70 N.Y.2d 879). An examination of the plaintiff's remaining contentions reveals that they are either beyond the scope of the appeal or are devoid of merit. Thompson, J.P., Eiber, Sullivan and Harwood, JJ., concur.