Orlando Sandpiper Partners, Ltd. v. Barber
Orlando Sandpiper Partners, Ltd. v. Barber
Opinion of the Court
This is an appeal of a non-final order denying the appellant’s motion to set aside a clerk’s default.
Sandpiper retained local counsel who promptly moved to set aside the default, and filed an answer and several supporting affidavits from the president of Sandpiper’s corporate general partner, its resident agent, and two of Sandpiper’s New York attorneys, including Rosenblum. Reasoning that Sandpiper had failed to establish “excusable neglect,” the trial court denied the motion. We reverse.
Sandpiper’s tardy answer to the complaint was not caused by its negligence or the negligence of any of its agents or employees. Instead, this tardiness was directly caused by the intervening negligence of unknown third parties at the location of Rosenblum’s former firm in New York who failed to promptly forward the complaint and summons to Rosenblum. We find these facts sufficiently established excusable neglect and that the clerk’s default should have been vacated.
REVERSED and REMANDED.
. Appellees concede on appeal that Sandpiper presented a meritorious defense in its answer and acted with diligence after discovering the default.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.