U.S. Bank Natl. Assn. v Alexander

Holding The court reversed the judgment of foreclosure and sale because the plaintiff failed to take proceedings toward entry of a default judgment within one year of the defendant’s default. The plaintiff’s excuses for the delay were deemed conclusory and unsubstantiated, requiring dismissal of the complaint against the defendant as abandoned under CPLR 3215(c).

The court’s words

The language of CPLR 3215(c) is not, in the first instance, discretionary, but mandatory, inasmuch as courts 'shall' dismiss claims

2026 NY Slip Op 06341, at the official text

the plaintiff failed to establish that it took proceedings toward the entry of a default judgment against the defendant within one year

2026 NY Slip Op 06341, at the official text

the plaintiff's proffered excuses for its failure to take proceedings toward the entry of a default judgment against the defendant within one year of the defendant's default were conclusory, unsubstantiated, and failed to account for the plaintiff's lengthy delay

2026 NY Slip Op 06341, at the official text