IRVING v. GREAT ATLANTIC PACIFIC TEA CO

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

It is well settled that "the proponent of a summary judgment motion must make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law, tendering sufficient evidence to demonstrate the absence of any material issues of fact" (Alvarez v. Prospect Hosp., 68 N.Y.2d 320, 324 ). "The failure to proffer such evidence warrants a denial of the motion, regardless of the sufficiency of the opposing papers" (Cicolello v. Limb, 216 A.D.2d 434 ). The affirmations of the appellants' attorneys and the very brief excerpts of deposition testimony failed to establish a prima facie case entitling them to summary judgment dismissing the plaintiffs' cause of action to recover damages for negligence (see, Beltran v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 259 A.D.2d 456 ; Cicolello v. Limb, supra;Menzel v. Plotnick, 202 A.D.2d 558 ). Accordingly, that branch of the motion was properly denied.