Opinion
June 15, 1998
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Orange County (Slobod, J.).
Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the plaintiffs' motion is denied, and the judgment dated December 12, 1996, is reinstated.
It is well settled that to vacate an order or judgment entered upon a party's default, the movant must establish both a valid excuse for the default and a meritorious cause of action ( see, Masotto v. Bravata, 244 A.D.2d 390; Brown v. Ryder Truck Rental, 172 A.D.2d 477). The plaintiffs offered little to explain their repeated failure to appear for scheduled conferences (see, 22 NYCRR 202.27). What explanation was offered amounted to nothing more than bald conclusory allegations of law office failure, which were insufficient to establish an excusable default ( see, Matter of People v. New Woman, 197 A.D.2d 525; Transit Graphics v. Arco Distrib., 202 A.D.2d 241; American Sigol Corp. v. Zicherman, 166 A.D.2d 628). Thus, the motion to vacate the judgment should have been denied.
O'Brien, J.P., Thompson, Friedmann and Goldstein, JJ., concur.