Pankiw v. Polish National Catholic Church of Our Savior

OPINION

KELLEHER, Justice.

This is a Superior Court civil action in which the plaintiff, Eugenia Pankiw (Eugenia), sought to recover damages from the Polish National Catholic Church of Our Savior (the church) for injuries she received when she fell down a church stairway. A jury trial was terminated when, at the conclusion of the presentation of evidence to support Eugenia’s claim, the trial justice granted the church’s motion for a directed verdict.

Eugenia, a native of Poland, came to the United States in 1961. She lives in Woon-socket, and at the time of trial in 1982 she was fifty-seven…