Palmer v. Aliberti

Mar 1, 2001
Versions:281 A.D.2d 156
721 N.Y.S.2d 511
2001 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1933

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Gerald Esposito, J.), entered January 11, 2000, which, to the extent appealed from as limited by the brief, denied plaintiffs motion for a default judgment against defendants-respondents and granted defendants-respondents’ cross motion to compel acceptance of their answer, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Although defendants-respondents promptly forwarded the complaint to their insurance carrier, their carrier, by reason of internal confusion in its legal department during a period of departmental reorganization, did not timely refer the complaint to counsel. Accordingly, since there was a reasonable excuse for defendants-respondents’ evidently non-prejudicial two-month delay in answering, and their verified answer, submitted in support of their cross motion, sufficiently set forth the merits of their defense (see, Ganvey Merchandising Corp. v Knudsen El. Corp., 169 AD2d 518), plaintiffs motion for a default judgment was properly denied and defendants-respondents’ cross motion to compel acceptance of their answer was properly granted. Concur—Sullivan, P. J., Nardelli, Williams, Saxe and Friedman, JJ.