Opinion
February 22, 1988
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Edelstein, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
The plaintiff commenced the instant action on or about May 22, 1986. Crabtree failed to answer, and it was not until December 1986 that Crabtree, upon becoming aware of its default, brought its motion, inter alia, to be relieved of its default.
CPLR 2005 authorizes the court to vacate defaults arising from law office failure. In exercising its discretion, the court will require a reasonable excuse for the delay and an affidavit of merit (Fidelity Deposit Co. v Andersen Co., 60 N.Y.2d 693). In this case, Crabtree has established both a reasonable excuse for the delay and the existence of a meritorious defense.
Crabtree's delay in answering can be attributed to law office failure. Shortly after the action was commenced, Crabtree's counsel, who was a sole practitioner, moved his office from Nassau County to Westchester County. In addition to the confusion arising from the move, counsel's office was staffed with temporary workers.
Further, since the plaintiff's action was seemingly brought under General Business Law § 198-a, and inasmuch as Crabtree is not the manufacturer of the vehicle in question, it would not necessarily fall within the scope of that statute (see, Luciano v World-Wide Volkswagen Corp., 127 A.D.2d 1).
Under the circumstances, and in view of the strong public policy which favors the resolution of cases on the merits (Lindo v Evans, 98 A.D.2d 765), we find that Crabtree's motion was properly granted. Mangano, J.P., Brown, Harwood and Balletta, JJ., concur.