Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the motion of the defendant Blue Label Trucking, Inc., is denied.
A court may excuse a default in answering upon a showing of a meritorious defense and a justifiable excuse for the default ( see, CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Korea Exch. Bank v Attilio, 186 AD2d 634). Also, it is within the discretion of the trial court in the interest of justice to excuse delay or default resulting from law office failure ( see, CPLR 2005; Korea Exch. Bank v Attilio, supra). In this case, the only excuse offered for the failure to serve a timely answer was delay caused by the insurance carrier of the defendant Blue Label Trucking, Inc., which is insufficient ( see, Peters v Pickard, 143 AD2d 81). In addition, the defendant Blue Label Trucking, Inc., failed to demonstrate a meritorious defense since the affidavit it submitted concerning the accident was from someone without personal knowledge of the facts surrounding the accident.