Verizon N.Y. Inc. v Case Constr. Co., Inc.
2009 NY Slip Op 04947 [63 AD3d 521]
June 16, 2009
Appellate Division, First Department
Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.
As corrected through Wednesday, August 5, 2009


Verizon New York Inc., Appellant,
v
Case Construction Co., Inc., Respondent.

—[*1] Solomon & Solomon, Albany (Douglas M. Fisher of counsel), for appellant.

Bauman Katz & Grill, LLP, New York (Daniel E. Katz of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Jane Solomon, J.), entered January 23, 2009, which granted defendant's motion for an extension of time to answer and denied plaintiff's cross motion for a default judgment, unanimously affirmed, with costs.

Defendant demonstrated a reasonable excuse for its delay in answering the complaint (see CPLR 3012 [d]; Finkelstein v East 65th St. Laundromat, 215 AD2d 178 [1995]). In addition, although it was not required to do so, defendant demonstrated the existence of meritorious defenses (see Terrones v Morera, 295 AD2d 254 [2002]). Concur—Saxe, J.P., Sweeny, Moskowitz, Acosta and Richter, JJ.