Representative image of a T-Rex head on display (Image Credits: Wikimedia Commons)
In 2005, Mary Ann and Lige Murray bought the entire surface estate of a ranch near Jordan, Montana, without knowing that dinosaur fossils lay beneath it. The sale divided ownership, with the Murrays receiving the surface rights and one-third of the mineral rights, according to the Montana Supreme Court’s 2020 opinion. The previous owners, Jerry and Robert Severson, retained the remaining two-thirds of the mineral interests
To their dismay, the situation only escalated in 2013, when the Seversons claimed ownership over the specimens through their mineral rights. In 2019, Montana’s law placed dinosaur fossils in the surface estate unless a transaction document specified otherwise, but excluded cases already before the courts. Because they are remnants of prehistoric creatures, montana court defines the scope of mineral rights The bottom line of the ruling favoured the Murrays, as the court reasoned fossils are prized.
they couldn’t immediately cash in on their discoveries because potential buyers wanted to know whether they had the rights to sell the “Duelling Dinosaurs” Although the Murrays were potentially on the way to riches. In response to the situation, the Murrays sought a court declaration that they were entitled to the discoveries since they held ownership of the surface estate. Their value isn’t found in mineral content, which makes them viable as raw material for manufacturing fuel, goods, or jewellery. Furthermore, fossils are often brought to the surface by soil erosion, and their excavation interferes with the land above; these features are what separate them from resources that fall under mineral rights.
Other discoveries included a nearly complete Tyrannosaurus rex, which, per the court’s opinion, the Murrays sold to a Dutch museum in 2014 for several million dollars. Ultimately, the case reached the state’s highest court, which ruled on 20 May 2020 that the dinosaur fossils within the scope of a deed’s general mineral reservation were not categorised as minerals unless the deed itself explicitly said otherwise. A federal district court ruled for the Murrays in 2016 and found that fossils fell outside the definition of what minerals really mean.
The proceeds were held in escrow against the backdrop of both sides disputing ownership. Their value, the court reasoned, depended on completeness, species, and preservation, rather than simply on mineral composition. Fossils are neither mined, processed, nor smelted, the Murrays’ attorney argued, setting them apart from the oil, coal, or gold that mineral rights have traditionally covered in Montana. Subsequently, the Ninth Circuit asked the Montana high court to resolve the issue under state law, and in evaluating the case, the court scrutinised the specific wording and context of the deed.