Spinelli v. St. John Nepomucene Roman Catholic Church

In 1980 the defendant St. John’s entered into a contract with the third-party defendant Fortunato & Sons (hereinafter Fortunato) whereby Fortunato agreed to construct a church for St. John’s on land owned by St. John’s in Bohemia, New York. On April 27, 1981, construction was substantially completed. On that day, the plaintiff Albert Spinelli, an employee of Fortunato, was assigned to drill holes in a 12-inch concrete curb which abutted an exterior stairway of the church for the purpose of installing a guardrail. The stairway led from ground level to the church basement, was 12- to 14-feet…