A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that U.S. divers in Florida have to return 17 tons of buried sea treasure worth an estimated $500 million to Spain.
But Tampa, Fla.-based Odyssey Marine Exploration has vowed to continue the protracted legal battle over the cache.
Attorneys for Odyssey asked the three-judge panel to overturn a lower court ruling and uphold the “finders keepers” rule that would give the treasure hunters the rights to coins, copper ingots, gold cufflinks and other artifacts salvaged in April 2007 from the galleon found off the coast of Portugal.
Click here for the full report and click here for the official court ruling.
