Client: Table Run Estates, Inc. and Condetta Brown Desgoutte
Court: New York Appellate Division, First Department
Trial Attorney: Stephen J. Alexander, Esq.
Brief Attorney: Alyson L. Knipe, Esq.
**Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances**
The New York Appellate Division First Department affirmed a lower court’s decision to vacate a $2.2 million dollar default judgment that was entered against Defendants Table Run Estates and Condetta Desgouttee when their answer was stricken based on their prior attorney’s failure to appear for court conferences and depositions.
The First Department held that an attorney who was suspended from and subsequently disbarred for neglecting legal matters and who failed to communicate with clients served as a reasonable excuse under CPLR 5015(a)(1) to vacate the default. The court also found that plaintiff offered no evidence that she incurred any prejudice. Therefore, the Appellate Division concluded that defendant’s motion to vacate the judgment was properly granted.
