Courthouse News Service: " DALLAS (CN) - Despite a lawsuit from the president of Mongolia, a Dallas-based auction house sold a largely intact fossil skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus bataar on Sunday for $1.1 million - but transfer of the bones will be put on hold during litigation.
Mongolian President Elbegdorj Tsakhia of Mongolia sued Heritage Auctions in Dallas County Court on Saturday.
Tsakhia said the fossil came from the Gobi Desert and that exporting dinosaur bones or fossils from his country is illegal. He sought to enjoin the sale and transfer of the skeleton until legal ownership and proper provenance is established in court.
Tyrannosaurus bataar means "alarming lizard." It resembles the North American Tyrannosaurus beloved by children.
Tsakhia's attorney Robert Painter, of Houston, flew to New York to attend the auction on Sunday and seek enforcement of a temporary restraining order signed by Dallas County Judge Carlos Cortez, Painter said in a written statement.
Painter said that when the skeleton came up for auction, the auctioneer stated, "The sale of this next lot will be contingent on a satisfactory resolution of a court proceeding dealing with this matter.""
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