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#1413554 --- 08/20/13 09:53 PM
Cornell may be liable for drunken run, gorge fall
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Senior Member
Registered: 03/21/01
Posts: 4944
Loc: Fourth Estate
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Cornell may be liable for drunken run, gorge fall: courtITHACA — Cornell University may be liable for the 2010 death of an intoxicated student who ran off the edge of a cliff in the middle of the night, a local judge has held. Tompkins County Supreme Court Justice Phillip Rumsey found that Cornell cannot claim immunity because the victim, sophomore Khalil Jamal Godfrey King, was not using the trail for recreational purposes. Instead, the judge ruled, King was drunkenly running through the woods for unknown reasons when he left the marked trail, passed through a split-rail fence and plunged into the Fall Creek Gorge. The court also rejected defense arguments that the gorge is an open and obvious danger, and Cornell had no duty to warn of that danger or enclose the area. King died in the early morning on August 28, 2010 after falling from a cliff over two hundred feet tall into the Fall Creek gorge on the Cornell campus. At the time of death, King had a blood alcohol level of 0.167 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving and may have been smoking marijuana, according to the court papers. His parents have sued the University, alleging negligence on the part of Cornell. The University, in turn, argued that it was immune under the General Obligations Law. The judge found that if King had been hiking, the school would be immune. But “hiking” is defined by the state as “traversing land by foot or snowshoe for the purposes of pleasure or exercise,” and that is not what the student was doing at the time he was killed. By: T. H. STEADY, CONTRIBUTOR © Copyright 2013, The Ithaca Independent. All Rights Reserved
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#1414530 --- 08/28/13 06:41 AM
Re: Cornell may be liable for drunken run, gorge fall
[Re: Mrlibe2ride06]
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Silver Member
Registered: 11/06/08
Posts: 10131
Loc: NY
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All I can say is you had better keep researching. You have a lot of miss-information in your post. This link should help http://admissions.cornell.edu/node/429 Does Cornell offer any scholarships? Financial awards are all based on demonstrated financial need only. Cornell offers no athletic or merit scholarships. All Cornell scholarships that reward grades, leadership ability, or other special academic talents are need-based. ---------- The way we used to run around those gorges it is surprising that more injuries or deaths have not occurred. Then again we had a lot of injuries that were not reported, because what we were doing would have gotten us in trouble. The danger is obvious, your words, that makes it extremely obvious that it Cornell is not liable.
Edited by cwjga (08/28/13 06:47 AM)
_________________________
Annoying liberals, it's just too easy. Hard to believe how easy it is.
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#1414597 --- 08/28/13 01:11 PM
Re: Cornell may be liable for drunken run, gorge fall
[Re: RentedMule]
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Junior Member
Registered: 08/28/13
Posts: 2
Loc: Buffalo
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@cwjga in the intrest of not battling who knows more than who I would also suggest you do a lot more research. http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/types-aid/grants-and-scholarships/cornell-grants-scholarshipsCornell does offer endowed scholarships to students who meet the donors criteria. All students are considered at the submission of their application and offers are extended to need based students. For everyone else. I chose to post a little more information so intelligent people could make an more informed decision. Not to place blame on Cornell or the student. Saying that you went to Cornell and swam in those gorges and never got hurt doesn't absolve Cornell of any responsibility to keep the area safe. If there was nothing wrong then they would have never decided to install nets and fences. Saying that signs and nets and safety precautions "ruin" it for the rest of it is like saying car brakes and seatbelts ruin the experience of driving. It isn't until you find yourself flying through a windshield that you think that having seatbelts is probably a good idea. It isn't for us to decide the merits or legitimacy of the case. If the case had no merit then the Judge wouldn't have allowed it to go forward. Nowhere in my post did I say that this danger was obvious. I said it was obvious after the 20 death that they had a problem. All the more reason that they should be held responsible. They knew they had a problem and decided to permit the status quo to go on. If anything I said that by nature of the overgrown vegetation and the thick tree-line the danger of finding your way to the edge of the gorge and a 200 ft drop was not obvious. I also attended Cornell and I was aware of deaths there and wondered why better fences where not in place and why more people never raised any questions. It was of course because cases never made it to trial because of Cornell's legal wranglings and their ability to keep cases in Tomkins County thereby securing that the good old boy system worked its magic. If the Judge went to Cornell and made donations to the alumni asssn. he is most likley gonna have a certain amount of bias. Case in point - "In last month’s motion, Howard Ginsburg’s attorney argued that the judge in the case, David Hurd ’59, should recuse himself because of his ties to Cornell. The motion said that, in addition to being an alumnus, the judge is listed as an “honor roll donor” to the University and has acted as a judge in the law school’s moot court competition" So of course this judge is going to be completely fair right?? So most of these cases never see the light of day. It isn't until recently with lawyers doing there due diligence and fighting that system also putting the pressure on the Judges to recuse themselves. So now the ability to get a fair hearing is more realistic. This is why cases are moving forward. Due process is a right of ever American. Saying that asking for justice because the status quo at Cornell is this or that is asking for more senseless deaths. Who knows next time it could be your child or mine. In that instance I hope you will be able to say that " It was just a sad unfortunate accident and that you should just accept it and do nothing" As I said I am not here to aurgue law and merits of law. I am saying before you write this child off as just another drunk kid and say Cornell has no liability you should look at the facts and put yourself in the shoes of the parents who lost their child. This world has become so numb to any feeling or empathy for anyone or anything. Shit happens is the mantra of the new generation and when you turn on the TV you see 100 tragedies a day. Each and every one of those tragedies has a story with real people at the heart of that story. The law will decide who is at fault and I am not saying their isn't any blame to be placed on this kid but their is also some blame to be placed on Cornell. How much remains to be seen....
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#1414637 --- 08/28/13 03:05 PM
Re: Cornell may be liable for drunken run, gorge fall
[Re: Mrlibe2ride06]
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Silver Member
Registered: 11/06/08
Posts: 10131
Loc: NY
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@cwjga in the intrest of not battling who knows more than who I would also suggest you do a lot more research. http://www.finaid.cornell.edu/types-aid/grants-and-scholarships/cornell-grants-scholarshipsCornell does offer endowed scholarships to students who meet the donors criteria. All students are considered at the submission of their application and offers are extended to need based students. For everyone else. I chose to post a little more information so intelligent people could make an more informed decision. Not to place blame on Cornell or the student. Saying that you went to Cornell and swam in those gorges and never got hurt doesn't absolve Cornell of any responsibility to keep the area safe. If there was nothing wrong then they would have never decided to install nets and fences. Saying that signs and nets and safety precautions "ruin" it for the rest of it is like saying car brakes and seatbelts ruin the experience of driving. It isn't until you find yourself flying through a windshield that you think that having seatbelts is probably a good idea. It isn't for us to decide the merits or legitimacy of the case. If the case had no merit then the Judge wouldn't have allowed it to go forward. Nowhere in my post did I say that this danger was obvious. I said it was obvious after the 20 death that they had a problem. All the more reason that they should be held responsible. They knew they had a problem and decided to permit the status quo to go on. If anything I said that by nature of the overgrown vegetation and the thick tree-line the danger of finding your way to the edge of the gorge and a 200 ft drop was not obvious. I also attended Cornell and I was aware of deaths there and wondered why better fences where not in place and why more people never raised any questions. It was of course because cases never made it to trial because of Cornell's legal wranglings and their ability to keep cases in Tomkins County thereby securing that the good old boy system worked its magic. If the Judge went to Cornell and made donations to the alumni asssn. he is most likley gonna have a certain amount of bias. Case in point - "In last month’s motion, Howard Ginsburg’s attorney argued that the judge in the case, David Hurd ’59, should recuse himself because of his ties to Cornell. The motion said that, in addition to being an alumnus, the judge is listed as an “honor roll donor” to the University and has acted as a judge in the law school’s moot court competition" So of course this judge is going to be completely fair right?? So most of these cases never see the light of day. It isn't until recently with lawyers doing there due diligence and fighting that system also putting the pressure on the Judges to recuse themselves. So now the ability to get a fair hearing is more realistic. This is why cases are moving forward. Due process is a right of ever American. Saying that asking for justice because the status quo at Cornell is this or that is asking for more senseless deaths. Who knows next time it could be your child or mine. In that instance I hope you will be able to say that " It was just a sad unfortunate accident and that you should just accept it and do nothing" As I said I am not here to aurgue law and merits of law. I am saying before you write this child off as just another drunk kid and say Cornell has no liability you should look at the facts and put yourself in the shoes of the parents who lost their child. This world has become so numb to any feeling or empathy for anyone or anything. Shit happens is the mantra of the new generation and when you turn on the TV you see 100 tragedies a day. Each and every one of those tragedies has a story with real people at the heart of that story. The law will decide who is at fault and I am not saying their isn't any blame to be placed on this kid but their is also some blame to be placed on Cornell. How much remains to be seen.... And those endowed scholarships are still needs based, they replace Cornell Grant money, they do not add to it. From your site. A named endowed scholarship does not change the total amount of financial aid awarded. Funds awarded through endowed scholarships replace the amount of any Cornell grant or self-help component (loans and work-study) on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Scholarships are awarded to students who meet the criteria specific to each fund. Still does not make Cornell liable.
_________________________
Annoying liberals, it's just too easy. Hard to believe how easy it is.
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