DEFENDANT’S EXCUSE WAS NOT REASONABLE; MOTION TO VACATE A DEFAULT JUDGMENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN GRANTED (SECOND DEPT). ​

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate a default judgment should not have been granted. The excuse was not reasonable:

A defendant seeking to vacate a default in answering a complaint must show both a reasonable excuse for the default and the existence of a potentially meritorious defense (see CPLR 5015[a][1] …). Here, the defendant’s proffered excuse that its president failed to open and review the contents of a package following its personal delivery upon him, and that the summons and verified complaint may inadvertently have been discarded thereafter, were insufficient to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the default … . Elderco, Inc. v Kneski & Sons, Inc., 2020 NY Slip Op 02766, Second Dept 5-13-20