SARYIAN v. RAMANA, INC

ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with one bill of costs.

As a general rule, a party does not sustain its burden in moving for summary judgment by pointing to gaps in its opponent's proof, but rather, must affirmatively demonstrate the merit of its claim or defense (see Dalton v. Educational Testing Serv., 294 A.D.2d 462; Russell v. Kraft, Inc., 284 A.D.2d 386; Pace v. International Bus. Mach. Corp., 248 A.D.2d 690, 691). The defendants failed to meet their burden herein (cf. Tiano v. Nick's Lobster Seafood Rest. Clam Bar, 300 A.D.2d 469).

The defendants' remaining contentions are without merit.

ALTMAN, J.P., KRAUSMAN, GOLDSTEIN and COZIER, JJ., concur.