ADVANCED ORTHO-TECHNOLOGY, INC. v. ORTHOSPEC

Ordered that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the plaintiff's motion is denied.

In order to vacate a dismissal of a complaint pursuant to CPLR 3404, the plaintiff must show a reasonable excuse for the delay, lack of prejudice to the adversary, a meritorious cause of action, and lack of intention to abandon (see, Gray v Sandoz Pharms., 158 A.D.2d 583). The plaintiff failed to meet this burden.

The asserted illness of the plaintiff's attorney was not a reasonable excuse because the attorney submitted no medical records to support his claim, and, in any event, there were associate counsel available (see, Prezio v Milanese, 40 A.D.2d 910). Nor did the plaintiff show a meritorious cause of action, because it did not submit an affidavit by a party with knowledge, and the affidavit of the plaintiff's attorney was unacceptable hearsay (see, e.g., Matter of Kharrubi v Board of Educ., 133 A.D.2d 457). Thompson, J.P., Rosenblatt, Ritter, Friedmann and Krausman, JJ., concur.