Order affirmed, with costs.
A court is authorized to vacate a default judgment pursuant to the provisions of CPLR 5015 upon a showing of an excusable default and a meritorious defense. In the case at bar, prior to his death the defendant's decedent explained that his default was the result of an inadvertent mistake, and he offered evidence in support of his claim that he had a meritorious defense. Accordingly, recognizing the strong public policy in favor of resolving cases on their merits, it was not an abuse of discretion for Special Term to have granted the motion (see, CPLR 5015 [a] [1]; Anolick v Travelers Ins. Co., 63 A.D.2d 665, 666). O'Connor, J.P., Niehoff, Lawrence and Kooper, JJ., concur.