Ogunmoyin v. 1515 Broadway Fee Owner Llc

• Citation: 925 N.Y.S.2d 844,85 A.D.3d 991,2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 05469
• Parties: Josephine OGUNMOYIN, appellant,v.1515 BROADWAY FEE OWNER, LLC, et al., defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents,SL Green Realty Corp., et al., defendants-respondents;Broadway Restaurant Associates, LLC, doing business as Bolzano's, third-party defendant-respondent.
• Decision Date: 21 June 2011
• Court: New York Supreme Court Appellate Division

85 A.D.3d 991
925 N.Y.S.2d 844
2011 N.Y. Slip Op. 05469

Josephine OGUNMOYIN, appellant,
v.
1515 BROADWAY FEE OWNER, LLC, et al., defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents,SL Green Realty Corp., et al., defendants-respondents;Broadway Restaurant Associates, LLC, doing business as Bolzano's, third-party defendant-respondent.

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

June 21, 2011.

Bader Yakaitis & Nonnenmacher, LLP, New York, N.Y. (John J. Nonnenmacher and Feinman & Grossbard, P.C. [Steven N. Feinman], of counsel), for appellant.Hoey, King, Toker & Epstein, New York, N.Y. (John A. Serio of counsel), for defendants third-party plaintiffs-respondents 1515 Broadway Fee Owner, LLC, and SL Green Realty Corp. and defendant-respondent

[925 N.Y.S.2d 845]

SL Green Management, LLC.Curan, Ahlers, Fiden & Norris, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Austin Jacobson of counsel), for defendant-respondent First Quality Maintenance, L.P.Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Frank D. Thompson II of counsel), for defendant-respondent Aramark.McElfish Law Firm, New York, N.Y. (Teresa A. Gruber of counsel), for third-party defendant-respondent.

[85 A.D.3d 991] In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Bayne, J.), dated April 16, 2010, which denied her motion pursuant to CPLR 5015 to vacate so much of an order of the same court dated November 13, 2009, as, upon her default, granted the defendants' separate motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint.

[85 A.D.3d 992] ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.

To vacate so much of the order dated November 13, 2009, as was entered upon the plaintiff's default in opposing the defendants' separate motions for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, the plaintiff was required to demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for the default and a potentially meritorious opposition to the motions for summary judgment ( see Joseph v. GMAC Leasing Corp., 44 A.D.3d 905, 905, 843 N.Y.S.2d 691; Rockland Tr. Mix, Inc. v. Rockland Enters., Inc., 28 A.D.3d 630, 630, 814 N.Y.S.2d 196; Henry v. Kuveke, 9 A.D.3d 476, 479, 781 N.Y.S.2d 114). While law office failure can be accepted as a reasonable excuse in the exercise of a court's sound discretion, the movant must submit supporting facts to explain and justify the default, and mere neglect is not accepted as a reasonable excuse ( see Morrison v. Rosenberg, 278 A.D.2d 392...