Harding County wants a team of fossil hunters to return a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex named "Tinker" unearthed from northwest South Dakota in 1998.
The county filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 20 against dinosaur hunter Ron Frithiof of Austin, Texas, Kim Hollrah of Iowa, Melody Harrell of Texas, Fred Debrovner of Colorado, and five unidentified parties.
The suit alleges the team wrongfully and illegally removed the skeletal remains from county property and asks for the dinosaur and all its rights to be given to the county. It accuses the parties of engaging in fraud, trespass and a civil conspiracy.
Joe Ellingson, a Spearfish attorney representing Frithiof, called the lawsuit frivolous, saying his client is a respected businessman who was willing to share a portion of proceeds from the dinosaur's sale with the county.
Ellingson said Frithiof and the team had excavated the T. rex from 3 1/2 acres of property leased from a private landowner. It wasn't until a potential buyer called for a land survey in May 2001 that it was realized that the county owned part of the land, Ellingson said.
"It's ravines and badlands, and there's no way you would know the property line," he said.
Kenneth Barker, a Belle Fourche attorney representing Harding County, would not discuss details about the property lines. But he said the issue is whether the defendants knew or should have known the land might have belonged to the county.
"They were certainly on notice that there was county property in the area they were exploring," Barker said.
The remains, some 65 million years old and about 90 percent complete, were found north of Belle Fourche in the summer of 1998. It was believed to be the first nearly complete skeleton of a juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex found.
The lawsuit lists the agreed upon sale price with the potential buyer as $8.5 million.
Dinosaur experts determined the specimen was young based on its unfused backbones and gangly appearance, particularly in the shin and ankle.
But the skeleton's large jaws and massive bone-crushing teeth suggested it ate an adult diet, even though it didn't appear strong enough to wrestle large prey to the ground. Scientists surmised that perhaps one of its parents hunted the meals, and Tinker showed up later to munch.
Ellingson said that after the team discovered Tinker, Frithiof looked to expand the search area to find more remains. The private landowner told Frithiof that Harding County owned some land nearby, so Frithiof sought to enter a lease agreement with the county, Ellingson said.
Frithiof and the county signed the lease agreement in late 2000, which, according to Ellingson, stated that Frithiof would pay no monthly rent but agreed to give the county 10 percent of the proceeds from anything found.
Ellingson said the county added a provision to the lease prior to signing that said that any fossils previously located, discovered or removed from the property would also be bound by the lease.
"That was the county that put in that provision, not my client," Ellingson said.
Barker said he disagreed with that assessment, but would not discuss details of the contract.
"I recognize that's their position, but I don't agree," Barker said.
According to the lawsuit, the county found out about Tinker's discovery in May 2003 and sent notice to rescind the lease. The suit accuses the defendants of "suggesting as facts, that which were not true," "suppressing facts which were true" and "other acts fitted to deceive."
Ellingson scoffed at claims that the team was trying to hide the discovery from Harding County officials. He said the discovery made national news and was on the Internet, and every paleontologist in the world who was interested has gone to see Tinker.
"They've never tried to hide it," Ellingson said. "They did everything in the world to make everyone aware of Tinker."
Barker said more details about the timing of the facts would come out in further legal proceedings.
"All of this will be fretted out during the discovery process," he said.
(Corrects grammar 20th graf)
