All,
I've been thinking about this case. The decision will declare that Dinosaur bones are minerals. That being the case, a landowner that did not have mineral rights on his property did not have the legal right to donate a dinosaur fossil since he did not own it.. Say, taking MOR for example, if the owner of the Egg Mountain property did not have the mineral rights, the the ownership of MOR's fossils from this site are now in limbo. If the owner of the mineral rights comes forward, they could sue for ownership since the fossils were in effect stolen from them.
This ruling would apply to every dinosaur fossil from private land in Montana. I could see smart lawyers approaching mineral rights holders for a percentage of the profits and removing specimens from museums and then selling them on the market. And, of course, if the ruling stands then how long before mineral rights owners in WY,SD,ND, CO, etc. follow suit.
Montana has been the place of discovery of many very special specimens. Perhaps the museums and professional community should step up and try to cut this off at the pass by filing amicus briefs against the decision as it stands. Time is of the essence from what I read.
I am not an attorney so I may way off with my concept but I think someone should look into it to be safe.
Tom Caggiano
Berthoud, CO