The court properly denied the motion for leave to enter default judgments and permitted the defendants to serve an answer. (See, Ching v Ching, 125 A.D.2d 934; CPLR 3012 [d].)
The short delay in serving the answer, the reasonable excuse offered for the delay and the court's inherent power in the interest of justice to favor an opportunity to defend and have a disposition on the merits (Matter of Mento, 33 A.D.2d 650) all lead to the conclusion that the order at Special Term was a proper exercise of discretion.
Concur — Murphy, P.J., Kupferman, Carro, Kassal and Wallach, JJ.