You are given a fact pattern below, followed by three binding case precedents. Write an IRAC analysis,

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Question:

You are given a fact pattern below, followed by three binding case precedents. Write an IRAC analysis, answering the question of whether the DC Metro was negligent and, therefore, liable for Li Yu's injuries. You are to determine the appropriate rule for your IRAC by synthesizing the rules from the three precedents.

Fact Pattern: Li Yu was excited to visit the historic sites of Washington, DC for the first time. Because of the difference in time zones, she woke very early in the morning. She went for a walk that eventually brought her to a DC Metro station (railway and subway station), but discovered the trains were not yet running for the day. She saw a few people milling about as the day in the nation's capital was soon to begin, but no Metro employees.

Li Yu wandered around the Metro station platform, reading the advertisements, studying the train routes, and buying a pass from the vending machine. She then put on her headphones and was absorbed in a podcast, lost in thought at 5:45 AM, when she suddenly slipped and fell. In great pain, she looked around and spotted a dark, leathery banana peel, six inches in length, lying on the granite floor. Her ankle was twisted and she bumped her head on the ground.

The Metro service provided evidence that it followed its written policy to sweep the platforms every night "after the trains stop at 1:00 AM, one half-hour before they open at 6:30 AM, and every 45 minutes during business hours (6:30 AM to 1:00 AM).

Precedent 1: Allinger v. Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Co. Excerpt from court ruling:

Action by Rose A. Allinger against the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad Company for personal injuries received by falling upon a banana skin lying on the platform at the defendant's station at Alexandria. The evidence showed that the plaintiff was a passenger who had just arrived, and was about the length of the car from where she alighted when she slipped and fell. There was sufficient evidence that there were many passengers on the platform. The banana skin upon which Mrs. Allinger stepped and which caused her to slip was bright yellow and appeared in fresh condition, thus it may have been dropped within a minute by one of the persons who was leaving the train. Ruling for the defendant.

Precedent 2: Cole v. Chesapeake & Ohio Railway Excerpt from the court ruling:

The plaintiff, Laura Cole, arrived at one of the defendant's cars on the upper level of the Pennsylvania Avenue terminal; a few other passengers arrived in the same car, but the the record does not state how many. Being unfamiliar with the terminal and surrounding area, she inquired of one of the defendant's uniformed employees about the direction to another train. The employee escorted Miss Cole along a narrow platform leading her toward a stairway. During this escorted walk, she was injured by slipping upon a banana peel. It was described by several witnesses who examined it in these terms: It 'felt dry, gritty, as if there were dirt upon it,' as if 'trampled over a good deal,' as 'flattened down, and black in color,' 'every bit of it was black, there wasn't a particle of yellow.'

It was one of the duties of employees of the defendant, of whom there were several at this station all the time, to observe and remove whatever debris was on the platform to interfere with the safety of travelers.

An inference may be drawn from the appearance and condition of the banana peel that it had been upon the platform a considerable period of time, in such a position that it would have been seen and removed by the employees of the defendant if they had been reasonably careful in performing their duty. Therefore, there is something on which to base a conclusion that it was not dropped a moment before by a passenger, such as in the Allinger case.

The obligation rested upon the defendant to keep its station reasonably safe for its passengers. There was sufficient evidence of negligence on the part of the defendant. Judgment for the plaintiff.

Precedent 3: Castillo v. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington Railroad

Excerpt from court ruling:

There was evidence tending to show that while descending a flight of stairs leading to the Penn Central Station of the defendant, Mr. Ernesto Castillo slipped and fell. Immediately thereafter a piece of banana peel was found underneath his shoe. His wife, going forthwith to the place where he fell, found there a part of a banana skin with her husband's shoeprint, smoothed down as if something had been pressed on it or it had been stepped upon. Its appearance was mottled yellow and black.

The defendant owned and controlled the stairway and it was open to the public. Public traffic on the stairway was heavy at that time of day. The defendant presented convincing evidence they swept the stairs every half-hour, and had swept only 15 minutes before Mr. Castillo's fall. Because the defendant was diligent in cleaning the station, there is not sufficient evidence of negligence. Judgment must fall in the defendant's favor.