DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the appeal by the defendant Westchester Medical Center is dismissed, as that defendant is not aggrieved by the order appealed from (see, CPLR 5511); and it is further,
ORDERED that the order is reversed insofar as reviewed, on the law and as a matter of discretion, that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was for leave to enter a judgment against the defendant Linus Chuang is denied, and the answer of the defendant Linus Chuang is deemed served; and it is further,
ORDERED that the defendant Linus Chuang is awarded one bill of costs.
The delay by the defendant Linus Chuang in answering the complaint was short, not willful, and supported by a reasonable excuse (see, Stone v. County of Nassau, 272 A.D.2d 392). Additionally, although terse, Chuang's affidavit of merits set forth sufficient facts to establish a meritorious defense (see, Stone v. County of Nassau, supra; Concepcion v. Talon Realty Corp., 258 A.D.2d 494). For these reasons, and in light of the strong public policy in favor of resolving cases on the merits (see, Workman v. Amato, 231 A.D.2d 627), we find that the Supreme Court improperly granted that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was for leave to enter a default judgment against Chuang.