Opinion
No. 23-069
11-17-2023
Michael Mensah, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Victory Mitsubishi, Defendant-Appellant.
Unpublished Opinion
Defendant appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Bronx County (Jeanine R. Johnson, J.), dated January 13, 2023, which denied its motion to vacate a default judgment.
PRESENT: Hagler, P.J., Tisch, J.
PER CURIAM.
Order (Jeanine R. Johnson, J.), dated January 13, 2023, affirmed, with $10 costs.
Civil Court providently exercised its discretion in denying defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment. Defendant failed to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for its failure to appear by counsel at scheduled court dates, despite being given ample opportunity to do so. "A corporate defendant's failure to comply with CPLR 321 provides no basis for vacating a judgment entered against that defendant..." (Jimenez v Brenillee Corp., 48 A.D.3d 351 [2008]; see e.g. 135 Bowery LLC v 10717 LLC, 145 A.D.3d 1225 [2016]; Pisciotta v Lifestyle Designs, Inc., 62 A.D.3d 850, 853 [2009]). Defendant's claims of lack of notice of the court dates and inquest, largely raised on reply and on appeal, to the extent preserved and properly before the court (see Sherman v Zampella, 214 A.D.3d 545, 546 [2023]; Matter of 322 W. 47th St. HDFC v Loo, 153 A.D.3d 1143 [2017], lv dismissed 30 N.Y.3d 1084 [2018]; Diarrassouba v Consolidated Edison Co. of NY Inc., 123 A.D.3d 525 [2014]), are unpersuasive and lacking in substantial merit (see also CPLR 3215[g]). We note also that defendant's reply papers contradicted their moving papers on issues such as service of process, knowledge of the action, and representation by counsel.
We have considered defendant's remaining arguments and find them unavailing.