Premier Surgical Servs., P.C. v Allstate Ins. Co., 2018 NY Slip Op 50273(U)(App. Term 2d Dept. 2018)
“[a] court, in its discretion, may accept a claim of law office failure as an excuse (see CPLR 2005; Star Indus., Inc. v Innovative Beverages, Inc., 55 AD3d at 904; Papandrea v Acevedo, 54 AD3d 915 [2008]). The affirmation submitted by defendant’s attorney in support of the motion did not provide a “detailed and credible” explanation of the law office failure that had caused the default”
“We note that, at oral argument, defendant’s attorney asserted that plaintiff had improperly served the summons and complaint on defendant at its Long Island office. However, since this argument was not raised in defendant’s brief, we decline to address it on appeal”
This one hurts, because this was a basis to vacate the default insofar as it is jurisdictional.
