Opinion
April 30, 2001.
In an action to recover unpaid legal fees, the defendant appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Nassau County (Martin, J.), dated May 19, 2000, which denied her motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3126 for failure to comply with a conditional order of dismissal of the same court dated December 20, 1999.
Before: Bracken, P. J., Friedmann, Florio, H. Miller and Townes, JJ., concur.
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
As a consequence of the plaintiff's failure to comply with a conditional order of dismissal, that order became absolute ( see, Kepple v Hill Assocs., 275 A.D.2d 299, 230; Tirone v Staten Is. Univ. Hosp., 264 A.D.2d 415; Askenazi v Hymil Mfg. Co., 263 A.D.2d 443). To be relieved from the adverse impact of the order of dismissal, the plaintiff had to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for his failure to timely comply with the discovery demand, and the existence of a meritorious cause of action ( see, Barriga v Sapo, 250 A.D.2d 795; Michaud v. City of New York, 242 A.D.2d 369; Cobble Hill Nursing Home v. Griffo, 240 A.D.2d 459). The plaintiff submitted a reasonable excuse for the six-day delay in serving the amended response to the defendant's first set of interrogatories (see, CPLR 2005). Furthermore, the amended response established the existence of a meritorious cause of action.