Opinion
September 24, 1984
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Rockland County (Walsh, J.).
Order entered July 19, 1983, modified, on the law, by deleting the provision which vacated the order entered March 25, 1983, and denied defendant's motion to dismiss and substituting therefor a provision adhering to the original determination. As so modified, order affirmed, without costs or disbursements.
In its order entered July 19, 1983, Special Term properly held that the plaintiff's failure to timely serve a complaint was the result of law office failure. However, in order to justify vacating the default, plaintiff must demonstrate a meritorious cause of action by submitting an affidavit containing evidentiary facts by a person competent to attest to the meritorious nature of her claim ( Vernon v Nassau County Med. Center, 102 A.D.2d 852; Hatcher v City of New York, 99 A.D.2d 481). In light of the plaintiff's failure to submit such an affidavit, Special Term erred in denying defendant's motion to dismiss the action for failure to timely serve a complaint. Mangano, J.P., O'Connor, Boyers and Eiber, JJ., concur.