ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
A defendant seeking to vacate a default must demonstrate to the court the existence of excusable default and a meritorious defense to the action (see, CPLR 5015). In matrimonial actions, the court has adopted a liberal policy with respect to vacating defaults (see, Singer v. Singer, 136 A.D.2d 695; Antonovich v. Antonovich, 84 A.D.2d 799). Here, the court properly exercised its discretion in vacating the default against the defendant. The defendant established excusable default due to the failure of the plaintiff's counsel to inform her of the proper adjourned date and the theft of her counsel's files a week before a response was due (see, Matter of Crawford v. Perales, 205 A.D.2d 307). In addition, the defendant established a meritorious defense to the action.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court properly granted that branch of the defendant's motion which was to dismiss the complaint. Strong public policy considerations militate against allowing recovery for intentional infliction of emotional distress when a claim arises out of the interpersonal relationships in a matrimonial context, as it does here (see, Weicker v. Weicker, 22 N.Y.2d 8; Eller v. Eller, 136 A.D.2d 678). In any event, all of the causes of action were barred by the applicable Statute of Limitations (see, CPLR 213; CPLR 214; CPLR 215).