79 A.D.3d 484
N.Y. App. Div.
2010

MARIA DOLORES TANPINCO et al., Appellants, v ROYAL CARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL et al., Defendants, CORPORATE TRAVEL SERVICES et al., Respondents.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York

November 30, 2010

[911 NYS2d 625]

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Milton A. Tingling, J.), entered June 16, 2009, which, upon plaintiff‘s motion for a default judgment against defendants Corporate Travel Services and Corporate Travel Services, Inc., and said defendants’ motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a cause of action, directed defendants to serve their answer within 20 days, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Defendants demonstrated a reasonable excuse for their delay in answering the complaint, i.e., that their insurance carrier failed to forward the complaint to counsel (see Heskel‘s W. 38th St. Corp. v Gotham Constr. Co. LLC, 14 AD3d 306, 307 [2005]). The record shows no willful default on defendants’ part and no prejudice to plaintiffs as a result of the delay (see Pagan v Four Thirty Realty LLC, 50 AD3d 265 [2008]). Concur—Tom, J.P., Andrias, Sweeny, DeGrasse and Román, JJ.