Opinion
March 30, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Queens County (Leviss, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
It is fundamental that "[t]he proponent of a motion for summary judgment is required to make a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment, as a matter of law, offering sufficient evidence to eliminate any material issues of fact from the case. The failure to make such a showing requires the denial of the motion, regardless of the insufficiency of the opposing papers" (Fox v Wyeth Labs., 129 A.D.2d 611). In the instant case, the defendants moved for summary judgment solely upon the basis of the pleadings and the plaintiff's testimony at an examination before trial. At no time, either upon the defendants' original motion or in reply to the plaintiff's medical proof, did the defendants submit any medical evidence of their own. Based upon the papers before the Supreme Court, the defendants failed to establish their entitlement to summary judgment in the first instance, and the court therefore properly denied their motion (see, DeFreese v Ryan Sanitation Corp., 125 A.D.2d 289; see also, Assaf v Ropog Cab Corp., 153 A.D.2d 520, 522). Sullivan, J.P., Balletta, Lawrence and Santucci, JJ., concur.