Opinion
Submitted May 10, 2000.
July 3, 2000.
In an action to recover damages for personal injuries, etc., the defendants appeal from an order of the Supreme Court, Queens County (Schmidt, J.), dated October 1, 1999, which denied their motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to CPLR 3216.
Frank V. Merlino, Garden City, N.Y. (David Holmes of counsel), for appellants.
Argyropoulos Bender, Astoria, N.Y. (Michael S. Bender of counsel), for respondents.
Before: LAWRENCE J. BRACKEN, J.P., DANIEL W. JOY, WILLIAM C. THOMPSON, GLORIA GOLDSTEIN, SANDRA J. FEUERSTEIN, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, the motion is granted, and the complaint is dismissed.
A party served with a 90-day notice pursuant to CPLR 3216 must comply with the notice by filing a note of issue or by moving, before the expiration of the 90-day period, to either vacate the notice or extend the 90-day period (see, Allone v. University Hosp. of N.Y. Univ. Med. Ctr., 249 A.D.2d 430; Hayden v. Jones, 244 A.D.2d 316).
The moving party must demonstrate both a justifiable excuse for the delay in properly responding to the 90-day notice and the existence of a meritorious cause of action (see, Papadopoulas v. R.B. Supply Corp., 152 A.D.2d 552). The plaintiffs failed to satisfy either requirement in this case. Indeed, the plaintiffs' opposition to the motion to dismiss the complaint did not even address the merits of their claim.
We decline to reach the issue of whether the defendants complied with CPLR 3216(b)(3), which is improperly raised for the first time on appeal (see, Murray v. Palmer, 229 A.D.2d 377; Shelton v. Shelton, 151 A.D.2d 659).