Brown, J.
The Huntington National Bank (“Huntington”) appeals the trial court’s denial of its motion to set aside default judgment in favor of Car-X Associates Corp. (“Car-X”). Huntington raises one issue, which we restate as whether the court erred or abused its discretion in denying its motion to set aside default judgment. We reverse and remand.
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Huntington contends in part that the trial court erred in finding that its delay was not the result of excusable neglect. Huntington specifically argues that the employee who typically received service of process was away on maternity leave, that Burnside covered for the woman, that Burnside does not typically receive service of process and added this job to his regular duties, and that, due to the volume of his regular duties, Burnside did not refer the matter to counsel until February 25, 2014, just six days after its deadline to respond to the complaint.
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Based upon the record, and in light of the short length of the delay, the security interest of Huntington and the amount at issue, the absence of evidence of prejudice to Car-X by the delay, and the severity of the sanction of default judgment, we conclude that Huntington’s failure to respond to Car-X’s complaint constituted excusable neglect under Trial Rule 60(B)(1). See Fulton v. Van Slyke, 447 N.E.2d 628, 637 (Ind. Ct. App. 1983) (noting that courts may consider factors including the amount of money involved, the length of time between the judgment and the request for relief, and lack of prejudice in reviewing the reinstatement of a cause of action, finding that many of the factors were present as Van Slyke had a foreign judgment for the substantial amount of $143,000, that only a sixteen-day period elapsed between the judgment and the initial attempt to set aside the judgment, and the estate had not demonstrated any way in which it would be prejudiced by reinstatement, and holding that considering the severity of the sanction the trial court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the claim to be set for a hearing on the merits), reh’g denied.
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In its motion to set aside default judgment, Huntington stated that its meritorious claim and defense is that it holds a first mortgage on the property, recorded in October 2005, that is a superior interest to the judgment lien of Car-X which was entered in July 2013. Huntington attached to its motion to set aside default judgment the instruments upon which its allegations are based, including the October 2005 promissory note and the mortgage securing the loan. The mortgage is file-stamped showing it was recorded in the Porter County Recorder’s Office on October 19, 2005, as instrument number 2005-032035. Huntington has alleged that the result of the proceedings would be different if the default judgment were set aside and thus has established a meritorious claim or defense.
Finding that Huntington has established that it was entitled to relief from the default judgment by demonstrating excusable neglect and a meritorious defense, we conclude the trial court abused its discretion in denying Huntington’s Trial Rule 60(B)(1) motion to set aside the default judgment.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Reversed and remanded.
BRADFORD, J., concurs.
BARNES, J., dissents with separate opinion.
BARNES, Judge, dissenting
I understand the reasoning of my colleagues in the majority here. I respectfully do not agree with it. I do not believe that Huntington proved that excusable neglect led to its delay in responding to Car-X’s complaint, as required to grant a motion for relief from judgment under Indiana Trial Rule 60(B)(1).
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Excusable neglect to me is just that: excusable neglect, not just neglect. It is something that can be explained by an unusual, rare, or unforeseen circumstance, for instance. One employee’s maternity leave is not such a circumstance and should not be used as an excuse for delaying judicial proceedings beyond the clear deadlines set by our Trial Rules, especially where a large and sophisticated party such as Huntington is concerned. I would defer to the trial court’s exercise of its discretion in this matter, and I vote to affirm its denial of Huntington’s motion for relief from judgment.