You are here: / / LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED...

LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined law office failure was not sufficient to justify granting plaintiffs’ motion to vacate the default judgment:

… [P]laintiffs’ counsel affirmed that he had timely prepared opposition papers, but due to law office failure, the nature of which counsel failed to describe in any detail, the papers were never filed. Counsel affirmed that he was under the impression the motion was still being considered by the court when he happened to discover the default order. He further affirmed that, despite defendants’ sworn affidavits of service, he was never served with the notices of entry of the default order.

Here, in addition to the untimeliness of this CPLR 5015 motion to vacate, the bare and unsubstantiated assertions of law office failure are insufficient to establish a reasonable excuse for the default … . Moreover, the record shows that plaintiffs had a prior pattern of dilatory conduct, indicating that the default was not an excusable isolated event or inadvertent error … Because plaintiffs failed to provide an acceptable excuse for the default, it is unnecessary to address whether they demonstrated a meritorious cause of action … . Fernandez v Santos, 2018 NY Slip Op 03326, First Dept 5-8-18

​CIVIL PROCEDURE (DEFAULT, MOTION TO VACATE, LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT))/LAW OFFICE FAILURE (DEFAULT,  MOTION TO VACATE, LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT))/DEFAULT, MOTION TO VACATE ( LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT))/CPLR 5015 (DEFAULT, MOTION TO VACATE, LAW OFFICE FAILURE INSUFFICIENT, MOTION TO VACATE DEFAULT PROPERLY DENIED (FIRST DEPT))

You might also like
​Monetary Award to Compensate Fraud Victims Ordered by a Czech Court in a Criminal Fraud Prosecution Entitled to Enforcement in New York as a “Foreign Country Judgment”
NYU SUFFICIENTLY ALLEGED AN INJURY-IN-FACT ENTITLING IT TO LITIGATE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF A NYC ZONING RESOLUTION PROHIBITING THE CONSTRUCTION OF CLASSROOMS AND DORMITORIES IN THE SPECIAL DISTRICT; THERE WAS A COMPREHENSIVE DISSENT (FIRST DEPT). ​
FINANCIAL ADVISOR IS NOT A PROFESSIONAL WHO CAN BE HELD LIABLE IN TORT BASED UPON A CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIP.
ALTHOUGH RESPONDENT SEX OFFENDER VIOLATED RULES IMPOSED BY THE “STRICT AND INTENSIVE SUPERVISION” (SIST) REGIMEN, HE DID NOT EXHIBIT ANY DANGEROUS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR; THEREFORE RESPONDENT SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CONFINED AND SHOULD BE RELEASED AND MANAGED UNDER “SIST” (FIRST DEPT).
CUSTODY AWARD REVERSED, FACTORS ERRONEOUSLY RELIED UPON BY FAMILY COURT EXPLAINED IN DETAIL. 
PLAINTIFF WAS STRUCK BY A FALLING BEAM WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN SECURED; PLAINTIFF WAS NOT OTHERWISE PROTECTED FROM FALLING OBJECTS; PLAINTIFF WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON THE LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION (FIRST DEPT). ​
PLAINTIFFS’ EXPERTS RAISED ISSUES OF FACT REQUIRING DENIAL OF DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN THIS MEDICAL MALPRACTICE ACTION.
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC DID NOT ENTITLE PLAINTIFF COMMERCIAL TENANT TO RENT ABATEMENT UNDER THE LEASE OR RESCISSION BASED UPON FRUSTRATION OF PURPOSE OR IMPOSSIBILITY (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

ESSENTIAL EVIDENCE SUBMITTED IN REPLY PAPERS PROPERLY CONSIDERED BECAUSE A SURREPLY... ALTHOUGH DEFENDANT FOREIGN CORPORATION DID NOT HAVE AN OFFICE IN NEW YORK COUNTY,...