Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
Under the circumstances, including, inter alia, the reasonable excuse offered by the defendants for their delay in answering, the existence of a possible meritorious defense, the lack of any evidence of willfulness, the absence of prejudice to the plaintiffs, and public policy in favor of resolving cases on the merits, the Supreme Court providently exercised its discretion in granting the defendants' motion, among other things, to vacate their default ( see CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Bunch v. Dollar Budget, Inc., 12 AD3d 391; Orwell Bldg. Corp. v. Bessaha, 5 AD3d 573, 574; Sippin v. Gallardo, 287 AD2d 703, 703-704; Khanna v. Premium Food Sports Enter., 279 AD2d 508, 509).