Murray v. BEJ Minerals

05/20/2020 SYNOPSIS OF THE CASE Case Number: OP 19-0304 2020 MT 131: OP 19-0304, MARY ANN MURRAY and LIGE M. MURRAY, Plaintiffs, Counter-Defendants, and Appellees, v. BEJ MINERALS, LLC, and RTWF LLC, (hereinafter BEJ), Defendants, Counter-Claimants, and Appellants.1 The Montana Supreme Court accepted a certified question from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit asking whether, under Montana law, dinosaur fossils constitute “minerals” that transfer with the mineral estate under a general mineral reservation deed. The Court answered the question no. BEJ were the original…