| Bobet v Rockefeller Ctr., N., Inc. |
| 2010 NY Slip Op 08349 [78 AD3d 475] |
| November 16, 2010 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| Julio Bobet, Respondent, v Rockefeller Center, North, Inc., etal., Appellants, et al., Defendants. (And Other Actions.) |
—[*1] Law Offices of Joel L. Getreu, P.C., New York (Joel L. Getreu of counsel), forrespondent.
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Debra A. James, J.), entered March 23, 2009, whichto the extent appealed from, as limited by the briefs, granted plaintiff's motion to vacate a prior ordergranting defendants summary judgment dismissing the complaint on default, unanimously affirmed,without costs.
To obtain relief from a default judgment, a party is required to demonstrate both a reasonableexcuse for the default and a meritorious claim or defense to the action (see CPLR 5015 [a][1]; Facsimile Communications Indus., Inc. vNYU Hosp. Ctr., 28 AD3d 391 [2006]).
The court properly found plaintiff's default excusable, particularly in view of the strong public policyof deciding cases on the merits (see NationalUnion Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh, Pa. v Diamond, 39 AD3d 360, 361 [2007]). There was noindication of a pattern of dilatory behavior or evidence that the default was willful, and there was noclaim of prejudice.
Moreover, based on testimony of a recurring pattern of placing wet garbage in the area whereplaintiff fell, the court properly determined that plaintiff had a meritorious claim (see Cignarella v Anjoe-A.J. Mkt., Inc., 68AD3d 560, 561 [2009]). Concur—Gonzalez, P.J., Mazzarelli, Andrias, Nardelli andRichter, JJ.