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Ginsburg V. City Of Ithaca And Cornell University Case Study

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Title: Ginsburg v. City of Ithaca and Cornell University et al., 839 F. Supp. 2d. 537 (N.D.N.Y. 2012). Parties: Plaintiff: Howard I. Ginsburg, as Administrator of the Estate of Bradley Marc Ginsburg, Defendants: City of Ithaca and Cornell University. Court: United States District Court. Procedural posture: The case is before the Northern District of New York after the plaintiff, Howard I. Ginsburg, filed an amended petition as the administrator of the estate of his deceased son, Bradley Marc Ginsburg, asking that the City of Ithaca and Cornell University be held negligent for Bradley’s wrongful death as well as personal injuries and conscious pain and suffering. Facts: On or about February 16 or 17, 2010, a freshman Cornell student, Bradley Ginsburg, committed suicide after jumping to his death off the Thurston Avenue Bridge in Ithaca, New York. Investigation showed that Bradley exhibited no visible warning signs associated with someone thinking about ending their life, but the father alleged that the City of Ithaca and Cornell University failed to take appropriate precautions to secure the bridge after 26 prior suicides on it and the other six bridges near campus between 1990 and 2010. Issues: 1) Did Cornell University through planning with the City of Ithaca exercise sufficient control over the design, construction, and maintenance of the Thurston Avenue Bridge where they could not be held liable for any alleged hazards on the bridge that might cause injuries or death? 2) Did the City of Ithaca and Cornell University takes adequate steps to ensure the safety of individual’s using the bridge at any time after the prior deaths were committed? Holdings: 1) No. Between the years of 2006 through 2007 Cornell University played a major part in the City of Ithaca’s redesign and rebuilding of the Thurston Avenue Bridge but was irresponsible due to their failure to express the importance of adding railings and other preventive suicide measures over “aesthetics” even with the prior knowledge of past suicidal events. Galindo v. Town of Clarkstown, 2 N.Y. 3d 633, 636 (2004) states that a party that owns or controls the property “has a duty to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances in

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