Bill S and Listers, The first documented USA court case of a meteorite battle over ownership of a meteorite was the Forst City meteorite, which fell in 1890 in Iowa. In the case, Goddard v. Winchell, 52 N.W. 1124 (Iowa 1892), the court said yes. In that case, an ownership dispute arose after a large meteorite fell onto prairie land in Forest City, Iowa, embedding itself three feet into the ground.The "grass rights" tenant sold the meteorite to a collector, and the landlord claimed title. The court held that, since the meteorite in question had been found below the surface of the ground, it had in effect become part of the realty. And since fixtures cannot be removed unilaterally by tenants, ownership of the meteorite was awarded to the landlord. The court reasoned, "It was not a movable thing 'on the ground.' It was in the earth, and in a very significant sense, immovable." Source http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202446510671&slreturn=1&hbxlogin=1 Here is another great write up on another website about the same court case of Forest City meteorite.
FOREST CITY METEOR CAUSED LITIGATION Ownership Determined By Supreme Court On May 2, 1890, Large Meteor Roared Across Sky and Exploded, Spreading Meteorites Over Ground Late in the afternoon of May 2, 1890, people in northern Iowa were startled by the appearance of a great fireball in the west which eclipsed for a moment the sunlight of an almost cloudless sky. Traveling at incredible speed from the southwest the meteor roared across the sky sputtering and throwing off a long train of sparks. The dazzling head, likened to the moon in size, left a heavy line of black smoke in its water, distinctly marking the meteor's course through the heavens. They story of the Forest City meteor, as it was named, it told by Ben Hur Wilson in a recent number of "The Palimpsest," published by the State Historical Society of Iowa at Iowa City. Few meteors have been more widely observed in their passage, perhaps on account of the time of day and the ideal weather conditions existing at the time. Authentic reports came from Des Moines, Mason City, Fort Dodge, Emmetsburg, Algona, Ruthven, Humboldt, Britt, Garner, Grinnell, Sioux City, and points outside of Iowa. For many miles around Winnebago county, the noise sounded like heavy cannonading accompanied by a hissing and a tremor which caused people to rush from their houses to inquire the cause. The meteor descended at an angle variously judged to incline from 50 degrees to 55 degrees with the horizon, and to the eye its course was apparently from the southwest to the northeast. The final explosion occurred over Winnebago county about eleven miles northwest of Forest City. An area some three or four miles in length ad from one and one-half to two miles in width was showered with meteorites. Although this meteoric field was adjacent to the town of Thompson, it was readily accessible from Forest City, the county seat. Inasmuch as most of the publicity emanated from the latter place, the meteor became known as the Forest City meteor, though Thompson would have been a more accurate geographical designation. Of the larger meteorites recovered from this field, two were found weighing approximately four pounds each, one of ten pounds, another sixty-six, and the largest eighty-one pounds. Several hundred smaller pieces ranged in weight from less than an ounce to almost a pound. Newspapers throughout the surrounding country carried reports of the meteor and scientists became interested at once in recovering fragments for museums. Within a day or two after the appearance of the meteor, Hans Matterson brought a few broken fragments to Forest City and left them on display at a local hardware store. Matterson reported that a neighbor Peter Hoagland, has found a stone "as large as a water-bucket." About this time Horace V. Winchell, assistant State Geologist representing the University of Minnesota, arrived in Forest City. He went directly to the Hoagland farm and tried to purchase the stone. Before terms could be agreed upon a second purchaser arrived. Bidding became spirited but Winchell persisted, and finally purchased the fragment for more than a hundred dollars. Having paid Hoagland in cash. Winchell placed the meteorite in the back of his buggy and drove back to town. At Forest City he packed the stone in a strong box, took it to the express office, and consigned it to Minneapolis. Meanwhile his competitor, learning that the stone had not fallen on Hoagland's land but across the road, secured a write of replevin in the name of the owner of the land on which the stone had fallen. Armed with his writ, the sheriff went to the express office and took possession of the box. The district court in Winnebago county decided that the stone belongs to the owner of the land when it had fallen. Hoagland, therefore was compelled to surrender the money he had received. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of Iowa but before this tribunal had rendered a decision the University of Minnesota had secured the meteorite through a second writ or replevin. In October, 1892, the Supreme Court of Iowa sustained the finding of the lower court, and suit was brought against the University of Minnesota on its replevin bond. The jury assessed the value of the meteorite at nearly five times the original value fixed by the court, which sum was cheerfully paid, and the stone was deposited in the museum of the University where it has remained to this day. -source: Iowa Recorder; Greene, Butler co. Iowa; July 1929 The Estherville meteorite is a case where a third party took the ownership of the meteorite from the owners... The lively interest manifest at Estherville led the farm boys to realize the commercial value of the meteorite. Loading it into a wagon, they set out across Minnesota, displaying a large sign that read: “ I am the Heavenly Meteor. I arrived May 10th at 5 o‟clock. My weight is 437 pounds. from whence I came nobody knows, but I am enroute for Chicago!” Hearing that their ownership was being questioned, the boys returned to Estherville, wrapped their treasure in quilts and buried it in Osborn‟s cornfield. Later, feeling secure in their ownership, they moved it to the home of one of the group, Chester Rewey. Charles N Birge, an attorney from Keokuk, through Lee‟s temporary default in payment on his farm purchased from the railroad company, made claim to the land. On the strength of this, he obtained a writ of attachment on the meteorite, which permitted him to take it away from Rewey‟s farm. Later he sold it to the British Museum for a reputedly large sum. In the following October, the Lee‟s were deeded their farm by Birge. source:http://estherville.org/The%20Estherville%20Meteorite.pdf Shawn Alan IMCA 1633 eBaystore http://shop.ebay.com/photophlow/m.html [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers bill kies parkforestmet at hotmail.com Fri Jul 15 23:29:22 EDT 2011 Previous message: [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They didn't find it, it found them. And, even though it was unprecedented in Virginia, Sylacauga comes to mind. The meteorite was returned to the Hodgeses. Does anyone know of a similar case or cases that went the other way? In favor of the landlord or a third party? > From: joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com > To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:41:46 -0400 > Subject: [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers > > You find it , it's yours!: > > > http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/william--mary-law-school-students-learn-about-property-law,-with-an-asteroid-twist-123.php > > > > Phil Whitmer > > ______________________________________________ > Visit the Archives at > http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html > Meteorite-list mailing list > Meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com > http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Previous message: [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More information about the Meteorite-list mailing list ______________________________________________ Visit the Archives at http://www.meteoritecentral.com/mailing-list-archives.html Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
