Fieldson Lodge Care Ctr. v. Andrews

• Decision Date: 16 December 2010
• Citation: 912 N.Y.S.2d 405,79 A.D.3d 552
• Parties: FIELDSON LODGE CARE CENTER, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Cecily ANDREWS, Defendant, Ian Andrews, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

912 N.Y.S.2d 405

79 A.D.3d 552

FIELDSON LODGE CARE CENTER, Plaintiff-Respondent,

v. Cecily ANDREWS, Defendant,Ian Andrews, Defendant-Appellant.

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, New York.

Dec. 16, 2010.

Law Office of Sergio Villaverde, PLLC, New York (Brian L. Charles of counsel), for appellant.

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP, New York (Israel Spodek of counsel), for respondent.

Order, Supreme Court, Bronx County (Lucindo Suarez, J.), entered October 21, 2009, which denied defendant Ian Andrews's motion to vacate the default judgment entered againsthim and for leave to serve an answer, unanimously affirmed, without costs.

Defendant failed to demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for his default and a meritorious defense to the action ( see Youni Gems Corp. v. Bassco Creations Inc., 70 A.D.3d 454, 455, 896 N.Y.S.2d 315 [2010], lv. dismissed 15 N.Y.3d 863, 909 N.Y.S.2d 693, 936 N.E.2d 460 [2010] ). He offered no evidence to substantiate his proffered excuse for his default, that he believed his mother's counsel had answered the complaint on his behalf ( see e.g. Gal-Ed v. 153rd St. Assoc., LLC, 73 A.D.3d 438, 901 N.Y.S.2d 592 [2010] ). He offered no evidence to refute the reasonable inference from the documentary evidence and his own admissions that the transfer of his mother's home to him, without consideration, immediately before his mother moved into plaintiff residential health care facility was fraudulent ( see e.g., Matter of CIT Group/Commercial Servs., Inc. v. 160-09 Jamaica Ave. Ltd. Partnership, 25 A.D.3d 301, 302, 808 N.Y.S.2d 187 [2006] ).

GONZALEZ, P.J., CATTERSON, ACOSTA, RICHTER, ABDUS-SALAAM, JJ., concur.