Jenny Chase Inc. v. Pizzolato

Jenny Chase Inc., Plaintiff-Appellant, against John Pizzolato d/b/a International Playground, Defendant-Respondent. Plaintiff appeals from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, New York County (Dakota D. Ramseur, J.), entered November 15, 2019, which granted defendant's motion to vacate a default judgment and restored the matter to the calendar. Per Curiam. Order (Dakota D. Ramseur, J.), entered November 15, 2019, reversed, without costs, motion denied and default judgment reinstated. A party seeking to vacate a judgment based on excusable default must demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for the default and a meritorious defense (see CPLR 5015[a][1]; Benson Park Assoc., LLC v. Herman, 73 AD3d 464, 465 [2010]). The preference for deciding cases on the merits does not justify vacating a default judgment where the moving party fails to satisfy both of these requirements (see Leader v Parkside Group, 174 AD3d 420, 421 [2019], lv dismissed 33 NY3d 1111 [2019]). Here, defendant failed to proffer any excuse for his default in this action. His moving papers were completely silent on this point. Because defendant failed to set forth a reasonable excuse for his default, his motion to vacate the judgment must be denied, regardless of whether he demonstrated a potentially meritorious defense (see Buro Happold Consulting Engrs., PC. v RMJM, 107 AD3d 602 [2013]; M.R. v 2526 Valentine LLC, 58 AD3d 530, 532 [2009]). THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE COURT. I concur I concur I concur Decision Date: April 3, 2020