State Farm Ins. Co. v Campbell (2010 NY Slip Op 50707(U))

State Farm Ins. Co. v Campbell

2010 NY Slip Op 50707(U) [27 Misc 3d 133(A)]

Decided on April 13, 2010

Appellate Term, Second Department

Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431.

This opinion is uncorrected and will not be published in the printed Official Reports.

State Farm Insurance Company a/s/o MARGARETTE A. MICHAUD, Appellant,

against

George David Campbell, Defendant, -and- CARMEN M. CAMPBELL, Respondent.

Appeal from an order of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County (Thomas D. Raffaele, J.), entered June 8, 2009. The order, insofar as appealed from as limited by the brief, granted defendant Carmen M. Campbell's motion to vacate so much of a default judgment as was entered against her.

ORDERED that the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed without costs, defendant Carmen M. Campbell's motion to vacate so much of the default judgment as was entered against her is denied and so much of the default judgment as was entered against defendant Carmen M. Campbell is reinstated.

In this subrogation action, a default judgment was entered against defendants. Defendant Carmen M. Campbell moved to vacate so much of the default judgment as was entered against her, and the Civil Court granted the motion. This appeal by plaintiff ensued.

A defendant seeking to vacate a default judgment on the ground of excusable default must demonstrate a reasonable excuse for the default and a meritorious defense to the action (see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Eugene Di Lorenzo, Inc. v A.C. Dutton Lbr. Co., 67 NY2d 138, 141 [1986]). Defendant Carmen M. Campbell demonstrated neither. She gave no excuse whatsoever for the failure to interpose an answer, as she was required to do in a "so-ordered" stipulation entered into by her counsel. Nor did her conclusory assertion that she did not owe any money establish a [*2]meritorious defense to the action (see Allstate Ins. Co. v Romeo, 24 Misc 3d 136[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 51504[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009]), since she failed to make any showing that she was not responsible for the underlying motor vehicle accident (see State Farm Ins. Co. v Champion Furniture, Inc., 22 Misc 3d 134[A], 2009 NY Slip Op 50238[U] [App Term, 2d, 11th & 13th Jud Dists 2009]). Consequently, it was an improvident exercise of discretion for the Civil Court to grant defendant Carmen M. Campbell's motion to vacate so much of the default judgment as was entered against her.

Accordingly, the order, insofar as appealed from, is reversed, defendant Carmen M. Campbell's motion to vacate so much of the default judgment as was entered against her is denied, and the default judgment as against her is reinstated.