Opinion
02-07-2017
NOTTE RESTAURANT CORP., et al., Plaintiffs–Respondents, v. 1626 SECOND AVENUE, LLC, Defendant–Appellant. 1626 Second Avenue, LLC, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Steven Salsberg, Defendant–Respondent, Nick Camaj, Defendant.
Kushnick Pallaci PLLC, Melville (Vincent T. Pallaci of counsel), for appellant. James Glucksman, Rye Brook, for respondents.
Kushnick Pallaci PLLC, Melville (Vincent T. Pallaci of counsel), for appellant.
James Glucksman, Rye Brook, for respondents.
FRIEDMAN, J.P., ANDRIAS, MOSKOWITZ, KAPNICK, KAHN, JJ.
Orders, Supreme Court, New York County (Marcy S. Friedman, J.), entered August 5, 2015, which denied the motions of 1626 Second Avenue, LLC (the defendant in the first action and the plaintiff in the second action) to enforce a default against plaintiffs in the first action and defendant Steven Salsberg in the second action, and vacated the defaults, unanimously affirmed, without costs.
The motion court providently exercised its discretion in vacating the defaults (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] ), given that public policy favors the resolution of cases on the merits (id. ), that Salsberg provided a reasonable excuse for the defaults (id. at 464 ), that it has already been determined that issues of fact exist concerning the lease and guaranty at issue in the two actions (see 1626 2nd Ave. LLC v. Salsberg, 105 A.D.3d 432, 432–433, 962 N.Y.S.2d 135 [1st Dept.2013] ), and that 1626 failed to follow the court's directions for entering default judgments.