Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York October 18, 2011 (Gustave-Francois v. Francois)

While this Court prefers to resolve matters concerning child support on the merits, it is still necessary for a party seeking to vacate an order entered upon default to show that there was a reasonable excuse for the default and a potentially meritorious defense (see Matter of Proctor-Shields v Shields, 74 AD3d 1347 [2010]; Matter of Coates v Lee, 32 AD3d 539 [2006]).