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The Verdict
The Supreme Court of Delaware upheld a superior court ruling finding that the Newark Country Club was not liable for Jeremiah's death. The court reasoned that, although the club had built the pond, it could not be distinguished from a natural body of water and was therefore not considered "artificial" for the purposes of the attractive nuisance rule.The pond, the court wrote, "was fed from a natural stream through a drainage pipe. An ice-covered pond and the risk posed by thin ice are some of the many ordinary dangers and conditions that children can reasonably be expected to discover and appreciate." The flow of water in the pipe and its effect on the ice above, the court reasoned, was no different from naturally moving water under an ice-covered pond. Jeremiah chose to risk walking on an icy pond even though his mother had warned him not to and he understood the danger of icy water. For these reasons, the pond was not an attractive nuisance as a matter of law, and the Newark Country Club was not liable for Jeremiah's injuries and death.
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