the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Wayne NJ, a William Paterson University professor is suing the school, claiming that officials lost his rare fossil collection, which was later discarded in a landfill.
Professor’s 380-Million-Year-Old Fossils Gone
🔬 Martin Becker, an environmental science professor and paleontologist, has spent decades collecting Devonian Age marine invertebrate fossils, estimated to be 380 million years old.
📦 In June 2024, Becker carefully packaged 200 fossils—comprising 80% of his collection—into 19 boxes and left them at the university’s mailroom to be shipped to a colleague in Florida.
Negligence Leads to “Destruction of His Life’s Work”
📌 According to a lawsuit filed last week in Superior Court in Passaic County, Becker alleges university negligence—specifically naming mailroom supervisor Raymond Boone—resulted in the irreversible loss of his fossils.
đź“Ś Becker claims Boone repeatedly gave him the runaround, assuring him that he was working on tracking updates and resolving the issue with UPS.
đź“Ś Months passed, and Becker’s Florida colleague never received the fossils. By September, Boone allegedly told Becker the fossils might be under review by UPS’s fraud department, but still insisted he was “working on the issue.”
Legal Battle Over Lost Fossils
⚖️ Becker is suing for negligence and emotional distress, arguing that the university’s mishandling of his irreplaceable fossils led to the destruction of his life’s work.
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You’ll end up in the landfill, too, Becker. Emotional distress … they lost my precious rocks and I’m in my feelings. Give me money. Maybe you could collect stamps instead.
Higher education?
Why would you trust the WP mailroom to handle such a precious treasure in the first place! Free shipping perhaps?