Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York October 18, 2011 (Borrie v. County of Suffolk)

In opposition to the plaintiffs cross motion for leave to enter a judgment against the defendant County of Suffolk upon its default in answering or appearing, the County was required to *843demonstrate a reasonable excuse for its default and a potentially meritorious defense to the action (see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Kouzios v Dery, 57 AD3d 949 [2008]; Giovanelli v Rivera, 23 AD3d 616 [2005]; Mjahdi v