THE ORDER DISMISSING THE COMPLAINT FOR FAILURE TO SEEK A DEFAULT JUDGMENT WITHIN ONE YEAR DID NOT INLCUDE SPECIFIC FINDINGS OF A PATTERN OF DELAY; THEREFORE THE “FAILURE TO PROSECUTE” EXCEPTION IN CPLR 205 (A) DID NOT APPLY; PLAINTIFF’S ACTION BROUGHT WITHIN SIX MONTHS OF DISMISSAL WAS NOT TIME-BARRED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the complaint was timely pursuant to the six-month extension afforded by CPLR 205 (a). The dismissal of the complaint did not include any specific findings of a general pattern of delay. Therefore the six-month extension was not precluded:
In 2018, Supreme Court granted defendant’s motion pursuant to CPLR 3215(c) to dismiss the complaint in the prior, 2010 foreclosure action for plaintiff’s failure to seek a default judgment within one year of defendant’s default. The dismissal order did not include any findings of specific conduct demonstrating a general pattern of delay in proceeding with the litigation, as required to preclude the application of CPLR 205(a) for failure to prosecute … . Under the circumstances, the court should not have granted defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint in the present action as time-barred, as this action was timely brought within six months after the motion court dismissed plaintiff’s first foreclosure action … . U.S. Bank N.A. v Kim, 2021 NY Slip Op 01876, First Dept 3-25-21