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'Dueling Dinosaurs,' judges say fossils should be treated like minerals
HELENA — The fight over who owns the 66-million-year-old fossils of two dinosaurs that appear to be locked in battle may turn on how a "mineral" is defined.
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a split decision saying the so-called "Dueling Dinosaurs" found on private land near the eastern Montana town of Jordan are "minerals" both scientifically and under mineral rights laws.
Under that Nov. 6 ruling, property owners Lige and Mary Ann Murray would share ownership with two brothers who retained two-thirds of the mineral rights to land once owned by their father.
But the federal court battle may not be over.
https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/in-fight-over-montana-s-dueling-dinosaurs-judges-say-fossils/article_5e66f77f-53a5-5755-a448-f2f78d29b3ae.html
A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has issued a split decision saying the so-called "Dueling Dinosaurs" found on private land near the eastern Montana town of Jordan are "minerals" both scientifically and under mineral rights laws.
Under that Nov. 6 ruling, property owners Lige and Mary Ann Murray would share ownership with two brothers who retained two-thirds of the mineral rights to land once owned by their father.
But the federal court battle may not be over.
https://missoulian.com/news/government-and-politics/in-fight-over-montana-s-dueling-dinosaurs-judges-say-fossils/article_5e66f77f-53a5-5755-a448-f2f78d29b3ae.html