| Diamond Truck Leasing Corp. v Cross Country Ins. Brokerage,Inc. |
| 2009 NY Slip Op 03862 [62 AD3d 745] |
| May 12, 2009 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
| Diamond Truck Leasing Corp. et al., Respondents, v CrossCountry Insurance Brokerage, Inc., et al., Appellants. |
—[*1] Lasky & Steinberg, P.C., Garden City, N.Y. (Barry M. Lasky of counsel), forrespondents.
In an action, inter alia, to recover insurance premium payments, the defendants appeal, aslimited by their brief, from so much of an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Austin,J.), dated April 15, 2008, as denied that branch of their motion which was, in effect, to vacate aprior order entered November 24, 2004, granting that branch of the plaintiffs' unopposed motionwhich was for leave to enter judgment against them on the issue of liability, upon their default inappearing or answering.
Ordered that the order dated April 15, 2008, is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
A defendant attempting to vacate an order entered upon its default in opposing a motionmust demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for the default and a meritorious defense to themotion and the action (see Edwards vFeliz, 28 AD3d 512, 513 [2006]). After making an informal appearance, the defendantsfailed to oppose the plaintiffs' motion for leave to enter a default judgment and failed to appear atthe inquest on the issue of damages. Even if the defendants' defaults were due to the personalproblems and neglect of their former attorney (see CPLR 2005), the defendants'three-year delay in moving to vacate their defaults and in taking any steps to ascertain the statusof the case displays a pattern of neglect which, under the circumstances, should not be excused(see MRI Enters. v Amanat, 263 AD2d 530, 531 [1999]; Roussodimou vZafiriadis, 238 AD2d 568 [1997]; Lauro v Cronin, 184 [*2]AD2d 837 [1992]). Moreover, the defendants' conclusoryallegations that they provided insurance coverage to the plaintiffs for the relevant time periodwas insufficient to establish a meritorious defense (see MRI Enters. v Amanat, 263AD2d at 531). Mastro, J.P., Fisher, Miller, Dickerson and Chambers, JJ., concur.