| Selechnik v Law Off. of Howard R. Birnbach |
| 2014 NY Slip Op 06072 [120 AD3d 1220] |
| September 10, 2014 |
| Appellate Division, Second Department |
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| Jacob Selechnik et al., Appellants, v LawOffice of Howard R. Birnbach, Respondent, et al.,Defendant. |
Alan B. Brill, P.C., Suffern, N.Y. (Sheila S. Rosenrauch of counsel), forappellants.
Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP, Hawthorne, N.Y. (ChristopherRusso and Jonathan Harwood of counsel), for respondent.
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for fraud and negligent hiring andretention, the plaintiffs appeal, as limited by their brief, from so much of an order of theSupreme Court, Rockland County (Garvey, J.), entered September 26, 2012, as deniedtheir motion to vacate an order of the same court dated January 12, 2012, entered upontheir default in appearing at pretrial conferences, directing the dismissal of the complaintinsofar as asserted against the defendant Law Office of Howard R. Birnbach.
Ordered that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.
To vacate their default in appearing at a pretrial conference, the plaintiffs wererequired to demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for their default and a potentiallymeritorious cause of action (see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Dobbins v Vartabedian, 23AD3d 431, 431 [2005]). Since the plaintiffs failed to proffer a reasonable excuse fortheir failure to appear at numerous court-ordered conferences, it is unnecessary toconsider whether they demonstrated a potentially meritorious cause of action (see Ogazi v Ogazi, 46 AD3d646, 646 [2007]). Accordingly, the Supreme Court providently exercised itsdiscretion in denying that branch of their motion which was to vacate an order of thesame court dated January 12, 2012, entered upon their default, directing the dismissal thecomplaint insofar as asserted against the defendant Law Office of Howard R. Birnbach(see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Dobbins v Vartabedian, 23 AD3d at 431).Mastro, J.P., Dillon, Miller and Maltese, JJ., concur.