Plaintiff fails to show a meritorious cause of action ( see Kalisch v Maple Trade Fin. Corp., 35 AD3d 291). In order to establish a meritorious cause of action, the affidavit of her nonparty witness who accompanied her to the supermarket was essential. The affidavit of plaintiffs witness, purportedly sworn to in the Dominican Republic, lacks the certificate of conformity (Real Property Law § 301-a) required by CPLR 2309 (c), and therefore is not properly before the Court ( see Matter of Elizabeth R.E. v Doundley A.E., 44 AD3d 332).