Millions at stake in ‘dueling dinosaurs’ fight in Montana
HELENA, Mont. — The discovery of two fossilized dinosaur skeletons intertwined in what looks like a final death match could make a Montana ranching couple rich beyond their dreams. Or they may have to share the wealth.
It all comes down to how the state Supreme Court answers a seemingly simple question: Are fossils minerals? The Montana justices heard arguments last week but did not rule right away.
The outcome is key to a dispute over ownership of the “dueling dinosaurs,” worth more than $5 million, and distribution of millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of other fossils unearthed from clay and sandstone in a fossil-rich area of central Montana.
While someone can own what’s on top of a piece of land, others can own material like oil, gas and coal that’s found below the surface. In property sales, an owner can keep some or all of those below-surface mineral rights.
Mary Ann and Lige Murray own the surface rights and one-third of the mineral rights on the ranch near the town of Jordan, while brothers Jerry and Robert Severson own two-thirds of the mineral rights after a 2005 property sale.
A few months later, amateur paleontologist Clayton Phipps found a carnivorous theropod and a plant-eating ceratopsian believed to have died 66 million years ago. Imprints of the dinosaurs’ skin were found in the sediment.
When the Murrays went to sell the “dueling dinosaurs,” potential buyers wanted assurances they owned the fossils. The Murrays sought a court ruling. Both sides have seen rulings in their favor as the case made its way through four courts since 2013.
A federal judge in Montana ruled in 2016 that fossils were not included in the ordinary definition of a mineral because not all fossils with the same mineral composition are considered valuable. The judge said the value was based on things like the completeness of the specimen, the species of dinosaur and how well it is preserved.
The Seversons appealed. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 last year that the dinosaur fossils were minerals both scientifically and under mineral rights laws.
The Murrays asked for a full panel of the appeals court to hear the case. The judges agreed but first asked the state Supreme
Court to rule whether fossils are considered part of a property’s mineral estate under state law.
Eric Wolff, an attorney for the Seversons, argued Thursday that the fossils in this case are composed of minerals and are valuable and are therefore part of the mineral estate.
His clients would then be part owners of the fossil finds, which include a nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex that was sold to a Dutch museum in 2014 for what a justice and Wolff suggested was about $15 million.
Lawmakers passed a measure this year that says fossils are part of the surface estate unless a contract says otherwise. But the law says it cannot be a factor in any cases already in court.