Murray v. Billings Garfield Land Co.

OPINION and ORDER

SUSAN P. WATTERS, United States District Judge

Before the Court are competing summary judgment motions filed by Plaintiffs/Counter-Defendants Mary Ann Murray and Lige E. Murray (collectively the “Murrays”) and Defendants/Counter-Claimants BEJ Minerals, LLC and RTWF, LLC (collectively the “Sever-sons”). The motions present the question of whether dinosaur fossils found on a ranch are included in the surface estate or the mineral estate. For the reasons that follow, the Court finds that fossils are not included in the ordinary definition of “mineral.” Accordingly, the Court…