A recent legal battle in Sweden has resulted in a landowner successfully retaining ownership of a 14-kilogram (31-pound) meteorite, following a ruling by the Svea Court of Appeals. The court determined that meteorites should be classified as 'immovable property' and considered part of the land on which they are discovered. The meteorite, composed of iron, landed on a property in Uppland, north of Stockholm, on November 7, 2020.
After being found by two geologists in December of the same year, the meteorite was initially handed over to the Swedish Museum of Natural History. However, the owner of the land where the meteorite was located, Johan Benzelstierna von Engeström, contested a previous ruling that granted ownership to the geologists, arguing that the meteorite was an integral part of the property due to its iron composition.
