Opinion
April 4, 1994
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Coppola, J.).
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.