STAN is the second most complete T. rex ever discovered and is displayed at the Black Hills Institute’s Hill City, South Dakota museum. A local couple that leaves outside of Faith is suing a Custer County dinosaur business because they say the company sold a Tyrannosaurus Rex fosil found on their land and they are intitled to a larger cut of the profits. The lawsuit was settled on confidential terms mutually agreeable to all parties. There actually aren't many T. rexes in the world. If you can just take someone else’s work and copy them that will save you an enormous amount of time and money.” Larson further explained that original T. rex specimens “have sold for millions, and reproductions can fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars a piece, so clearly there can be a strong financial incentive to cut corners.” The company’s website lists the full-skeleton replica of Stan for $100,000; the skull alone for $9,500. “Hollrah had been hunting and selling dinosaur bones most of his adult life. It's unlikely this T. rex is as complete as Sue, still the best preserved lizard king to ever be discovered and who after a long legal battle ended up in the Chicago Field Museum. Rapid City is offended by cowboy hats but welcomes those country dollars spent in the community. Note: The original infringing “Peck’s Rex” skeleton is currently with the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana, while “STAN” is on display at The Museum at Black Hills Institute in Hill City, South Dakota. “Tyrannosaurus rex is my passion,” explained Larson. The world’s most famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever, SUE and STAN, were the subjects of a first-of-its-kind copyright infringement lawsuit. It really is a labor of love and we simply cannot allow others to claim our work as their own. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Winchester, Virginia. “You can’t pirate a T. rex copyright and not expect to get bitten,” quipped Mr. Santangelo, the lead attorney on the case. In the end, I have to protect the integrity of the Institute, my employees, and our work,” said Larson. Carol.. wolf is a very good product. Black Hills Institute of Geological Research, Inc. v. Fort Peck Paleontology, Inc. et al, CV-10-76-GF-SEH (D. Montana, Great Falls Division). Does the buyer want a museum specimen? "After removal of the fossil from the real property, ITBFI and his agents spent countless hours preparing, cleaning, and marketing the fossil for sale. South Dakota T. rex dispute lands in court. You can cancel at any time. It has been a publicly traded company since 1999 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TREX”. A scenic dirt road at Badlands National Park has been closed after the discovery of a 300-feet long landslide just two feet off the road. So much so, that they have agreed to settle two large class action lawsuits. Since Trex decking is warranted for 25 years, I filed a warranty claim only to find out the quality problem I experienced was systemic and subject to a Class Action suit against Trex. A California federal judge last week granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement in which Trex Co. Inc. will pay $8.25 million to settle accusations that the company sold defective decks that were prone to discoloration. As outlined in the federal lawsuit, Fort Peck Paleontology unlawfully retained possession of these bone specimens and proceeded to make unauthorized copies of the STAN and SUE copyrights. Shelton said around 50 have been found worldwide. In an $8.2 million dollar lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court of Montana, the South Dakota-based Black Hills Institute of Geological Research Inc., alleged that a competitor, Fort Peck Paleontology Inc., wrongfully pirated and reproduced copyrighted portions of some of the most famous T. rex specimens in the world. Trex stock declined 9% in the wake of the company releasing its first-quarter financial results. Original review: July 24, 2020. The home deck … I hired a well-reviewed local contractor who added additional deck joists (so they were 12″ on center) and installed my new Trex deck. Black Hills Institute was represented by Santangelo Law Offices P.C., a Fort Collins, Colorado-based law firm that litigates copyright and other intellectual property matters, and the local law firm Crist, Krogh & Nord LLC, in Billings Montana. Now it seems more people are becoming dissatisfied with the longevity and quality of Trex products. Hollrah says in his federal lawsuit that he saw immediately that the jawbone belonged to a juvenile T-rex and he seized the chance to find the rest of its bones, negotiating with Eatman to buy the jawbone and lease rights for the area where Eatman found it for $50,000. “These specimens are extremely difficult to create and assemble into a full T. rex model. Intellectual Property Attorneys serving clients throughout the world from three locations. However, in recent years Trex decking has battled lawsuits concerning issues with the decking. Contact Christopher Vondracek at Christopher.Vondracek@rapidcityjournal.com. 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I am more offended by tattoos, plumber's crac…, A Custer County deputy shot and injured a man on Sunday evening after the man refused to drop a gun and pointed it at him, according to two la…. Never was a big believer … But, Larson said the fossilized bones that his company finds bear no resemblance to the replicas they create after cleaning, restoring, glueing, then making a cast. Trex composite decking made from plastic bags, wood fibers, and other secrets I wasn't told! So Trex agreed to replace the defective decking but decided as a matter of ‘policy’ that they … “We protect our clients from copycats – and the fact that these are the most famous T. rex specimens in history makes preventing wrongdoing absolutely critical,” explained Mr. Santangelo. The Rapid City Police Department believes a man meant to be an assault and robbery victim turned into a murder victim after one of the suspect…. UPDATE: Details on how to file a claim for the Trex decking class action lawsuit settlement are up!. But if a ranch couple is fighting for 10 percent of the proceeds, it's pretty sure the dinosaur fetched a pretty penny. "Hell Creek is a very productive deposit for dinosaur and contemporaneous non-dinosaur fossils," said Sally Y. Shelton, associate director of the Museum of Geology and Paleontology Research Laboratory at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Gov. Email and phone messages to an investment company listing Willhoit as president were not returned. Last July, Darwin and Patty Hauser, a ranching couple from outside Faith — near the Hell Creek Formation, a dinosaur hotbed home for 60 million years to the famous T. rex named Sue — sued a dinosaur excavator called In the Beginning Fossils based in rural Custer. A 21,756-acre ranch southeast of Rapid City recently sold for $19 million. Trex Company is the world’s largest manufacturer of high performance wood-alternative decking and railing, with more than 20 years of product experience. In an email to the Journal Shelton said preparation depends on "many factors," such as the specimen's level of preservation and the surroundings — rock or soil? March 18, 2010 07:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. In addition to copyright infringement, the lawsuit claimed unfair competition, as well as misappropriation and conversion of Black Hills Institutes’ intellectual and personal property. I replaced my cedar decking five years ago with Trex Transcends Havana Gold decking. “We’re happy we were able to have an amicable settlement with them.”, Black Hills Institute is one of the world’s leading institutes for the preparation, creation, sculpting, and casting of museum quality fossilized dinosaur creations and exhibits. He said Trex had paid about $1.9 million already through March 31, 2017. The Trex decking settlement resolves a 2009 class action lawsuit (Mahan v.Trex Company Inc.) that alleges certain wood-plastic composite decking products sold by Trex were defective and susceptible to mold, mildew, fungus, or other spotting and discoloration.According to the product’s 25-year warranty, the decks would not suffer from material defects or damage from fungal decay, … SUE is the most complete and well-preserved T. rex ever discovered, and is the headliner display at the Chicago Field Museum. Trex Settles Mold Lawsuit For $8.25 million plus attorneys’ fees, Trex is putting a national class action lawsuit in its rear-view mirror. Neither did Erlandson, representing In the Beginning. The Hausers alleged In the Beginning sold a T. rex skeleton dug up with their permission to a Colorado company as a "prepared" skeleton, rather than an "unprepared" skeleton, which would give them a larger cut of the sale. 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