[meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers

From: Galactic Stone & Ironworks <meteoritemike_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Sat, 16 Jul 2011 08:10:27 -0400
Message-ID: <CAKBPJW-f6srq7S1Y2GFR5_fs7g8jmPWkRAS=QUgBOzD2ec=Dcg_at_mail.gmail.com>

When comparing Sylacauga to Lorton, one must remember that Ms. Hodges
was struck by the meteorite - nobody in the Lorton dentist office was
hit. Having been struck gave Ms. Hodges a stronger case for
ownership. If someone inside the dentist office had been struck
(either a patient or one of the dentists), then the legal case might
not have favored the landlords.

Best regards,

MikeG

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On 7/16/11, Sterling K. Webb <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> Litigation was also a factor in Sylacauga:
>
> http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp?id=h-1280
> "Television, radio and newspaper excitement
> lasted for weeks, highlighted by a very public
> dispute between the Hodges and Birdie Guy,
> who owned the home in which the Hodges
> lived as renters. Facing repair expenses for
> the damaged house, Guy was advised by her
> attorney that legal precedent had established
> that meteorites were the property of the
> landowner, and she sued for possession of
> the rock. The Hodges threatened to counter-
> sue for Ann's injuries, and the outraged
> public sided with her. Before it went to trial,
> cooler heads prevailed and after a modest
> private settlement, Guy gave up her claim
> on the meteorite to the Hodges...
>     Hewlett Hodges believed that the couple
> stood to make a fortune from the incident.
> He refused what he considered an inadequate
> offer for the meteorite from the Smithsonian
> Institution, claiming he had received other
> offers as high as $5,500. In the end, Ann
> Hodges, not knowing how to bargain with
> the media, earned at most only a few hundred
> dollars from the incident that had made her
> famous. By 1956, the bad publicity surrounding
> the lawsuit ended the monetary offers, and
> she donated the meteorite to the Alabama
> Museum of Natural History, where it remains.
>     Probably the only major figure in the entire
> Sylacauga meteorite story to claim a satisfactory
> ending was Julius K. McKinney, a farmer who
> lived near the Hodges. On December 1, 1954,
> the day after Ann Hodges was struck, he
> discovered a second fragment of the meteorite
> in the middle of a dirt road. McKinney was
> able to sell his rock to the Smithsonian for
> enough to purchase a small farm and a used
> car. This fragment is on display at the Smithsonian
> Institution, but the label strangely does not
> acknowledge its more famous Alabama sibling."
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "bill kies" <parkforestmet at hotmail.com>
> To: <joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com>
> Cc: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Friday, July 15, 2011 10:29 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers
> Weepers
>
>
>>
>> They didn't find it, it found them. And, even though it was
>> unprecedented in Virginia, Sylacauga comes to mind. The meteorite was
>> returned to the Hodgeses. Does anyone know of a similar case or cases
>> that went the other way? In favor of the landlord or a third party?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> From: joshuatreemuseum at embarqmail.com
>>> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>>> Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2011 22:41:46 -0400
>>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Lorton Meteorite: Finders Keepers, Losers
>>> Weepers
>>>
>>> You find it , it's yours!:
>>>
>>>
>>> http://www.wm.edu/news/stories/2011/william--mary-law-school-students-learn-about-property-law,-with-an-asteroid-twist-123.php
>>>
>>>
>>> Phil Whitmer
>>>
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Received on Sat 16 Jul 2011 08:10:27 AM PDT