By order, defendants were directed to serve their answer to the amended complaint within 20 days of service of notice of entry of the order. Defendants were served with notice of entry of the order, but they did not move for leave to file a late answer until 35 days later, when plaintiff filed its request to enter a default judgment with the clerk. The court denied defendants' motion for leave to file a late answer on the ground that defendant failed to provide a reasonable excuse for the delay in answering. At the same time, the clerk informed plaintiff that it needed to formally move for a default judgment. Thereafter, plaintiff formally moved for a default judgment and defendants cross-moved to extend their time to answer for the second time.
The Appellate Division determined that the court properly denied defendants' motion for leave to file a late answer based on law of the case. The court initially denied defendants' motion on the ground that defendants failed to provide a reasonable excuse, and defendants never appealed that decision or moved to reargue that decision. Defendants then made a second motion for leave to file a late answer and offered the same excuse for their delay. The Appellate Division determined that, in the alternative, the motion court properly denied defendants' second motion for leave to file a late answer on the ground that defendants failed to put forth a reasonable excuse for their delay in answering the amended complaint. It was not an abuse of discretion for the court to find that defendants' excuse was not reasonable.
2001 Real Estate Space Catalyst, Inc. v. Stone Land Capital, Inc., NY Slip Op 03138 (1st Dep't May 18, 2021)
