Opinion
570693/09.
Decided January 13, 2010.
Defendant appeals from an order of the Small Claims Part of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Anil C. Singh, J.), dated June 29, 2009, which denied his motion to vacate a default judgment.
PRESENT: McKeon, P.J., Shulman, Hunter, JJ.
Order (Anil C. Singh, J.), dated June 29, 2009, reversed, without costs, defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment is granted and the matter remanded for trial.
Defendant established a potentially meritorious defense (and counterclaim) to this small claims action. Moreover, while defendant's excuse for failing to appear in court for the scheduled trial is hardly overwhelming, it is sufficient under the facts of this case to warrant affording him vacatur relief from the default judgment. Accordingly, in the exercise of our discretion, we conclude that defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment should have been granted ( see generally Carroll v Nostra Realty Corp., 54 AD3d 623, lv dismissed 12 NY3d 792; Mutual Marine Office, Inc. v Joy, 39 AD3d 417, 419).
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT.
I concur