Opinion
570019/18
10-12-2018
The NIMKOFF FIRM, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Paula VILLALVA, Defendant-Respondent. Paula Villalva, Third-Party Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Ronald A. Nimkoff and Nimkoff Rosenfeld & Schechter, LLP, Third-Party Defendants-Appellants.
Per Curiam.
Order (Adam Silvera, J.), dated May 2, 2017, affirmed, without costs.
Given the strong public policy favoring resolution of cases on the merits (see Chevalier v. 368 E. 148th St. Assoc., LLC , 80 AD3d 411, 413-414 [2011] ), the reasonable excuse proffered by defendant for her failure to appear at the pretrial conference, the existence of a possible meritorious defense to the claim for unpaid legal fees, and the absence of any indication that defendant's isolated default was willful or prejudicial, the motion court did not abuse its discretion in granting defendant's prompt motion for vacatur relief (see Person v. Sulton , 59 Misc 3d 126[A], 2018 NY Slip Op 50347 [U] [App Term, 1st Dept 2018] ).