Ordered that the appeal by the defendants Drexel Construction Corp. and Charles I. Alfred Building Corp. is dismissed, as those parties are not aggrieved by the judgment (see CPLR 5511); and it is further,
Ordered that the judgment is affirmed; and it is further,
Ordered that one bill of costs is awarded to the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs demonstrated sufficient cause as to why this action should not be dismissed pursuant to CPLR 3215 (c), and why they were entitled to a judgment against the defendants Alfred Mattikow and Maypat Realty Corp. almost nine years after those defendants defaulted in appearing in the action.
An action is deemed abandoned where a default has occurred and a plaintiff has failed to take proceedings for the entry of a judgment within one year thereafter (see CPLR 3215 [c]; Greenpoint Bank v Ginyard, 253 AD2d 451 [1998]). In order to avoid the dismissal of the action as abandoned, the plaintiff must offer a reasonable excuse for the delay and demonstrate the merits of the action (id.; see State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v Rodriguez, 12 AD3d 662 [2004]). Here, service of the summons with notice was completed upon Alfred Mattikow and Maypat Realty Corp. in June 1995. Although the plaintiffs did not move for a default judgment until May 2004, the Supreme Court correctly determined that the plaintiffs offered a reasonable excuse for this delay.
The plaintiffs presented evidence of a prolonged and tortured history of settlement discussions, where Mattikow would allow years to pass between proposals based on speculative real estate ventures the success of which allegedly hinged on the plaintiffs’
As to the meritorious nature of their claim, the plaintiffs introduced the promissory note issued by Maypat Realty Corp. (hereinafter Maypat) on September 1, 1989, in the amount of $175,000. The note was duly executed by Maypat’s President, Alfred Mattikow, on behalf of the corporation. The note was personally guaranteed by Mattikow. The affidavit of the plaintiff Paul Iorizzo established that no amount of principal or interest had been paid on the note although same was demanded. Mattikow acknowledged the debt in a draft settlement proposal he sent to the plaintiffs’ counsel on May 5, 1994, and at least twice thereafter.
Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court’s decision to excuse the plaintiffs’ delay and grant that branch of their motion which was for leave to enter a default judgment against Mattikow and Maypat was a provident exercise of discretion, especially in the absence of any prejudice to those defendants caused by the delay. The remaining contentions of those defendants are without merit. H. Miller, J.P., Crane, Skelos and Dillon, JJ., concur.