Appeal by plaintiffs from an order of the Civil Court, Kings County (J. Sullivan, J.), entered December 2, 2002, which conditionally granted defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment entered against it.

Order unanimously affirmed with $10 costs.

"A defendant seeking to vacate a default must demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for the default and the existence of a meritorious defense" (Warren v Allstate Ins. Co., 300 AD2d 577, 578 [2002]; see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]). "The determination of what constitutes a reasonable excuse for a default lies within the sound discretion of the trial court" (Parker v City of New York, 272 AD2d 310, 311 [2000]). In the instant case, the court providently exercised its discretion when it found that defendant demonstrated a reasonable excuse for its default. Further, inasmuch as defendant could assert a viable defense of lack of coverage based upon a "founded belief that the alleged injury does not arise out of an insured incident" (Central Gen. Hosp. v Chubb Group of Ins. Cos., 90 NY2d 195, 199 [1997]), the court correctly held that defendant demonstrated the existence of a meritorious defense. Accordingly, the court properly vacated the judgment entered upon defendant's default in opposing plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment. [*2]
Decision Date: January 27, 2004