NO REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR, DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT).
The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint in this foreclosure action should have been granted. Plaintiff did not seek a default judgment within one year and did not provide an excuse for the delay:
The plaintiff failed to seek a default judgment on the unanswered complaint within one year after the default, as required by CPLR 3215(c) … . To avoid dismissal of the action as abandoned pursuant to CPLR 3215(c), the plaintiff was required to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for its delay in seeking a default judgment and a potentially meritorious cause of action… . The plaintiff failed to offer a reasonable excuse for its delay in seeking a default judgment. Since the plaintiff failed to proffer a reasonable excuse for its delay in seeking a default judgment, this Court need not consider whether it had a potentially meritorious cause of action… .
A defendant may waive the right to seek a dismissal pursuant to CPLR 3215(c) by serving an answer or taking any other steps which may be viewed as a formal or informal appearance … . Here, the defendants did not appear in the action, either formally or informally. Federal Natl. Mtge. Assn. v Heilpern, 2018 NY Slip Op 05752, Second Dept 8-15-18
CIVIL PROCEDURE (DEFAULT, NO REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR, DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/CPLR 3215 (DEFAULT, NO REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR, DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/DEFAULT JUDGMENT (CIVIL PROCEDURE, NO REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR, DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))/FORECLOSURE (CIVIL PROCEDURE, DEFAULT, NO REASONABLE EXCUSE FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR, DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS THE COMPLAINT IN THIS FORECLOSURE ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT))