In Butindaro v. Grinberg , after Anthony Butindaro filed suit in Kings County Supreme Court against Dr. Michael Josovitz alleging "medical malpractice" and "wrongful death," Josovitz never answered the complaint.
When a few years passed, and Butindaro didn't take any steps to enter a default judgment, Josovitz later sought to get the case dismissed as "abandoned."
After the Kings Country Supreme Court denied that request, Josovitz appealed to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which held that in order for an abandoned case to avoid dismissal there must be a reasonable excuse for the delay and a meritorious basis to the action.
Butindaro's excuse -- that he didn't press forward with the judgment because his attorney had twice spoken to Josovitz's office and been advised that the doctor was forwarding the legal papers to his insurance carrier -- wasn't seen as acceptable. The AD2 also didn't think Butindaro had a good case.
Looks like Butindaro got a swift kick there.
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Butindaro v. Grinberg