Firm That Dug T-Rex Skeleton Loses Possession
The most complete Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton ever found does not belong to the fossil-hunting company that dug it up three years ago, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
The decision by the three-judge panel means the U.S. government will continue to hold the 65-million-year-old fossil, nicknamed “Sue,” in trust for the rancher from whose land it was taken.
Federal law prevents the rancher from selling the fossil without approval of the U.S. Interior Department, the court said.
Patrick Duffy, a lawyer for the Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, said the private company will appeal. The Tyrannosaurus rex was seized by federal officials in a May, 1992, raid as part of a criminal investigation.
The institute, which sued the federal government to overturn the seizure, argued that it paid rancher Maurice Williams $5,000 for the fossil. But Williams has said the payment was only for permission to search his land.
The fossil is being stored at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.
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