Opinion
Submitted September 12, 2000.
March 5, 2001.
In an action to recover damages for wrongful death, etc., the plaintiffs appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Spodek, J.), dated July 14, 1999, which granted the defendants' motion, in effect, to reargue the plaintiffs' motion to strike their answer and, upon reargument, vacated a prior order of the same court dated May 5, 1999, striking the defendants' answer upon their alleged default in responding to the motion.
Jonathan Rice, New York, N.Y., for appellants.
Michael D. Hess, Corporation Counsel, New York, N.Y. (Edward F. X. Hart and Tahirih M. Sadrieh of counsel), for respondents.
Before: LAWRENCE J. BRACKEN, ACTING P.J., ANITA R. FLORIO, HOWARD MILLER, NANCY E. SMITH, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in granting the defendants' motion, in effect, to reargue the plaintiffs' motion to strike their answer (see, Caccioppoli v. Long Is. Jewish Med. Ctr., 271 A.D.2d 565; Fellin v. Sahgal, 268 A.D.2d 456). The defendants established that they did not default in responding to the motion to strike, but had submitted opposition papers in which they provided a reasonable excuse for their failure to furnish the court-ordered discovery (see, Peterson v. Melchiona, 269 A.D.2d 375; cf., Miller v. Jablonski, 266 A.D.2d 363).