On Jan. 18 at 5:45 p.m., a meteorite crashed through the ceiling of a medical office in Lorton, Va. It damaged the building and interior finishings but hurt no one. The meteorite’s fall from space is over, but the earthly battle over its ownership has just begun. This, in a circumstance of pure kismet, was a mere 90 minutes after I had wrapped up a lesson in my property law course discussing meteorite ownership disputes, among other things.
“It’s evident that ownership is tied to the landowner,” asserted one of the landlords. The tenant doctors, by publicizing their intent to donate the meteorite to the Smithsonian and any proceeds to Haitian earthquake relief, have likely won the public relations battle in the court of public opinion. But who should win title in a court of law?
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
