Opinion
2001-08463
Submitted October 16, 2002.
November 18, 2002.
In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for medical malpractice, the plaintiff appeals from an order of the Supreme Court, Kings County (Cammer, J.), dated July 26, 2001, which granted the respective motions of the defendants Angelo Cammarata and John Kehoe, the defendant Sheldon Schechter, and the defendant Adrian Baranetsky, to dismiss the action pursuant to CPLR 3012(b) for failure to timely serve a complaint.
Janice G. Roven (Pollack, Pollack, Isaac DeCicco, New York, N.Y. [Brian J. Isaac] of counsel), for appellant.
Marian Polovy, New York, N.Y., for respondents Angelo Cammarata and John Kehoe.
Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman Dicker, LLP, New York, N.Y. (Richard E. Lerner and Jason R. Corrado of counsel), for respondent Sheldon Schector.
Martin, Clearwater Bell, New York, N.Y. (David A. Shimkin and Jeff Lawton of counsel), for respondent Adrian Baranetsky.
Before: MYRIAM J. ALTMAN, J.P., SONDRA MILLER, LEO F. McGINITY, ROBERT W. SCHMIDT, REINALDO E. RIVERA, JJ.
DECISION ORDER
ORDERED that the order is affirmed, with costs.
"To avoid dismissal for failure to timely serve a complaint after a demand for the complaint has been made pursuant to CPLR 3012(b), a plaintiff must demonstrate both a reasonable excuse for the delay in serving the complaint and a meritorious cause of action" (Chmielnik v. Rosenberg, 269 A.D.2d 555; see also Kel Mgt. Corp. v. Rogers Wells, 64 N.Y.2d 904). The plaintiff failed to demonstrate the existence of a meritorious cause of action. Therefore, the Supreme Court properly granted the respective motions to dismiss the complaint.
ALTMAN, J.P., S. MILLER, McGINITY, SCHMIDT and RIVERA, JJ., concur.