New Jersey
NJ’s William Paterson University lost professor’s 380-million-year-old fossils — which ended up in a Tenn. dump, lawsuit claims
He has an ancient bone to pick.
A professor is suing a New Jersey university after it allegedly caused his collection of 380-million-year-old fossils to end up in a Nashville landfill, ruining more than 18 years of work.
Martin Becker, a professor of environment science and a paleontologist at William Paterson University in Wayne, accused the school of negligence over failing to pay outstanding fees to UPS, which was supposed to transport about 200 of his fossils from the campus to Florida, NBC News reports.
Instead, the error caused Becker’s life work to be tossed out at a Tennessee dump, upending the “hundreds upon hundreds of hours” the paleontologist spent collecting rare ancient fossils from the Devonian period of the Paleozoic Era on New Jersey’s High Mountain.
“Plaintiff’s assemblage of the fossils is the most unique and comprehensive collection of marine fossils ever reported in Northern New Jersey,” the lawsuit states.
“The fossil assemblage was an integral part of plaintiff’s life and all aspects of his career, and was a critical factor in plaintiff’s good name and stupendous reputation at William Paterson and the fields of paleontology and geology,” it added.
Becker’s nightmare began on June 18, 2024, when he packed his 200-fossile collection inside 19 separate boxes to be sent off from the university’s mailroom to a colleague in Florida for a collaborative project.
The packages were handed off to mailroom supervisor Raymond Boone, who was also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, with UPS picking up the boxes that same day, according to the lawsuit.
Boone allegedly told Becker he would receive tracking and insurance information from UPS, but Becker says he never received the documents.
When the professor learned that the fossils never arrived in Florida, he made multiple calls to the mailroom and finally received tracking information on Aug. 20, according to the suit.
It allegedly showed that the packages were still in New Jersey, and Becker said he repeatedly contacted Boone to resolve whatever issue was stalling the delivery.
By Sept. 20, Boon told Becker the fossils might have been held up by the UPS fraud department, according to the lawsuit.
Becker went on to contact UPS directly 10 days later, learning that his packages were intercepted because the university’s account had been canceled over its failure to pay outstanding invoices, the lawsuit states.
The school’s account had already been canceled on April 24, with Boone knowing about the lapse by July 8 despite telling Becker at the time that he was “working on the issue,” according to the lawsuit.
Becker is accusing the school and Boone of negligence and breaching their duty of care over his fossils for failing to pay the UPS invoices and for shipping his packages before the issue was resolved.
Becker also claims Boone was unfit for his job at the mailroom and alleges William Paterson was negligent in hiring him.
Becker is seeking unspecified damages for his lost collection, as well as medical expenses for the distress the whole ordeal has caused him, according to the suit.
Boone and William Paterson University did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Christa M. Compton, Chatham, N.J., was elected June 7 to serve a six-year term as bishop of the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA. The election took place during the synod assembly, June 5-7 at the Hilton East Brunswick Hotel & Executive Meeting Center in East Brunswick, N.J.
Compton was elected on the fifth ballot, with 235 votes. Maristela Freiberg, assistant to the bishop and director for evangelical mission in the New Jersey Synod, received 116 votes.
The bishop-elect has served as pastor of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Chatham, since 2013.
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New Jersey
NJ Gov Phil Murphy preparing for World Cup 1 year out: 'Most-watched event in human history'
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JERSEY CITY, NJ – Wednesday marks exactly one year until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America, and the party got started in the state where the final will be played.
It’s the first time since 1994 that the continent is playing host to the most popular sporting event in the world, and Phil Murphy’s New Jersey will be the site of the final.
MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford will host eight matches total, including five in the group stage and games in both the rounds of 32 and 16.
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Gov. Phil Murphy with the trophy from the World Cup, which will be played in New Jersey in 2026. It was part of Murphy’s budget address for the state’s 2025 fiscal year. (Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
In speaking to the media on Wednesday at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, the location of the official 2026 World Cup fan festival, Murphy predicted that the final at the home of the New York Giants and Jets will be “the most-watched event in human history.”
And for those in attendance, “the MetLife experience will be outstanding,” said Murphy.
“It will be secure and safe, easy to get in and out, great experience for the fans once they’re in the stadium,” Murphy continued.
“This is what it’s all about. A bunch of preparation, and now being able to show our vision and get the reaction we got, which was excitement, energy, interest. This is what it’s all about,” added Alex Lasry, CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee.
A general view of MetLife Stadium prior to a game between the New York Jets and the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 11, 2023, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
WITH WORLD CUP EXACTLY 1 YEAR OUT, USMNT LEGENDS SAY PRESSURE IS TURNED UP A NOTCH
“It’s real. We’re a year out, and to see the reaction from everyone of how much excitement there is for the World Cup makes us that much more excited.”
Liberty State Park is the home to tremendous views of the New York City skyline and the Statue of Liberty while filled with greenery, making it the perfect spot for fans to gather. So, while Murphy will undoubtedly be at all eight World Cup games played at MetLife, there is a further responsibility to make sure that fans are entertained for the other 96 contests played in the other 15 host stadiums.
“The fan fest, it’s going to be beyond words. Twenty-two screens, capacity of 45,000. When we’re not at MetLife, we’ll be here watching. Those experiences are extraordinary. This will be no exception,” Murphy added.
2026 FIFA World Cup promotion is displayed at MetLife Stadium after an announcement by FIFA on Feb. 5, 2024, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEW press via Getty Images)
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“When you look at the ability for people to get here from New York and New Jersey, the iconic skyline and views from this, and then, when you’re just thinking of where to put on the party, there’s nowhere better,” Lasry said. “It’s a unique place to put on the most iconic fan fest that we’re looking at. To be able to do that in New Jersey with the view of New York, it kind of brings together the partnership.”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place in North America next year and will be featured on FOX Sports.
Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Sean Higgins, Sherrill’s director of communications, said the campaign will focus on introducing Sherrill to the entire state over the next several months.
“She has dedicated her life to serving the people of this country, and the people of New Jersey,” he said., “Mikie is going to be a governor for everybody, she’s going to build more affordable housing and bring costs down, she’s going to deliver.”
Higgins said Sherrill is very different from Ciattarelli.
“Mikie is for New Jersey, and Ciattarelli is for Trump,” he said. “She’s ruthlessly focused on getting results, and I think that stands in stark contrast to Jack Ciattarelli, who is really the ghost of elections past and hasn’t really delivered a thing for New Jersey.”
At Sherrill’s headquarters, inside the ballroom of the Westin Governor Morris Hotel in Morristown, supporter Roman Hirniak, of Wharton, said he was happy that his candidate won.
“I am a proud member of the Ukrainian-American community in New Jersey,” he said. “Congresswoman Sherrill has been one of our loudest voices on Capitol Hill, she has earned my support because she is a decent human being that understands what leadership should be like on the gubernatorial level.”
Another supporter, David Genova, of Montclair, said he’s backed Sherrill since she first ran for Congress.
“She’s been very supportive of Montclair, especially during the pandemic,” he said. “I think she’s on the right and practical side of most issues and I think she’s going to be a great governor., Mikie knows how to get things done.”
During the primary campaign the gubernatorial candidates spent more than $122 million, making it the most expensive primary race in state history.
Micah Rasmussen, the director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics at Rider University, said recent polling projected Rep. Sherrill as the frontrunner, but a winner was hard to predict.
“We just did away with the county ballot line [in New Jersey] which gave preferential treatment to candidates who had the [major political] endorsements,” he said. “This time candidates were on their own, they had to make their own case, and that meant we couldn’t really model how this election was going to turn out.”
He said voter turnout for primary elections in New Jersey is usually low, and in this race voters were choosing between six different candidates, making it harder to predict voting trends.
“That means that the number of votes it takes to win the race is pretty low, and that at least raised the possibility that any of them could have gotten across that finish line,” he said.
Four years ago in the primary election for governor, about 12% of registered Democrats voted. Less than 400,000 ballots were cast in that race.
The general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
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