Land Surveyor Forum

Below is a recent letter (altered to protect the innocent) that I sent to my client in an on going boundary problem which has grown into a dispute. I find it unfortunate that all too often I have been compelled to send out this type of letter.

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"Dear Client

I have communicated with the other Land Surveyor a number of times about this matter before and after I released the results of survey I performed originally to locate this boundary line.

The other Land Surveyor never tied into the parent tract much less any "tract" to the east of this boundary because that is not shown on their survey. We did tie to the properties to the east and this is shown on our survey.

There has been no "long standing" dispute about this boundary. The other Land Surveyor surveyed the adjoining property to yours and the improvements were built on that property based on their survey. I happened to survey a property adjoining that property a couple of years ago which was only a year or so after the other Land Surveyor performed their survey.

The "pipe" the other Land Surveyor claims to have found is the ONLY evidence they show on their survey of how they located the boundary in question. There is no public record of any "pipe" at that location nor is there any evidence such a "pipe" would delineate the boundary in question. This is a violation of codified law and that Land Surveyor is subject to consequences as a result.

When we were surveying the land to the west of the other Land Surveyor's survey we had a copy of their survey before we ever contacted them which we obtained from the parent property owner adjoining you to the east. We computed the exact location of the "pipe" the other surveyor claimed to have "found" based on the location of physical improvements (buildings and fences) shown on their survey. The ground was undisturbed and had been undisturbed for years and we found no "pipe" at that location. I asked the other Land Surveyor to meet me on the property and show me the "pipe" but the other Land Surveyor later told me it must have been "destroyed" because he could not locate it on the ground anymore. This is disclosed on the survey we provided to you.

Further the other Land Surveyor told me that they based the location of the boundary shown on their survey on the location of the fences not the "pipe" although there is no mention of this on their survey. Since the fences do not follow the other Land Surveyors boundary I am uncertain how such a statement can be supported by the facts. The other Land Surveyor also told me that they had used "parol" evidence to locate the boundary which consisted of them asking their client if the fence was the boundary. I have copies of written communication between the other Land Surveyor and myself which prove this.

During the course of our communication the other Land Surveyor ask me for copies of the deeds for their own parcel and the surrounding parcels for the land that they surveyed because those deeds were shown on my survey and not shown on theirs. In other words they never bothered to pull any of the deeds for these properties.  I told the other Land Surveyor politely to go and get them their self because they were of public record and I pointed out to the other Land Surveyor that they were violating codified law by not doing this before they surveyed the property. 

Regardless of a claim by me of how wrong the other Land Surveyor's understandings of the law may be and regardless of a claim by me that they may or may not have violated codified law they failed to disclose these matters on the survey they performed. The act of producing a survey without this information make the other Land Surveyor subject to the consequences of codified law.

This is the core problem with any other arguments at this point.  Anyone can claim anything now but the fact of the matter is the other Land Surveyor never contemplated some "map" location, "road" location, "pipe" location, deed location or anything else that supports the boundary shown on their survey. The reason is those matters do not appear on their survey or there is strong evidence suggesting the matters shown on their survey are erroneous.

I spoke to the owner of the parent tract of land and my previous client a number of times about this issue as I have done with you. After the owner of the adjoining parent tract spoke to the other Land Surveyor the owner of the adjoining parent tract admitted to me that he believed the boundary I was showing on my survey was probably the boundary of public record.

I have repeatedly suggested that a boundary agreement should be obtained by the parties and I have begged all of the parties to be reasonable. I have warned all parties of the possible arguments of possession rights and equity which must be considered regardless of the record boundary location. I have said many times to all parties that the entire matter could be settled for little money, without lawyers and would result in everyone being happy.

I have no power or authority to settle your dispute. I could care less how the matter is resolved because I have no dog in this fight. I have disclosed everything on my survey, far beyond the minimum standards required under codified law.  I have gathered an overwhelming amount of evidence both on the ground and in the record to support the conclusions as to the boundary location shown on my survey. I have thoroughly interviewed all the parties involved including gathering unrecorded surveys of the subject lands. If I have some biased it is that I am biased by the evidence.

If I must apologize it will be to express regret for my colleague's actions that have caused this matter to become such a problem for members of the public.

Sincerely, Land Surveyor"

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The Land Surveyor must adhere to codified law. The Land Surveyor must conduct an exhaustive search for evidence to support their opinion. The Land Surveyor must disclose evidence that both supports and refutes their conclusions. The Land Surveyor must communicate to their client the possible legal ramifications of what their opinions mean. The Land Surveyor must offer solutions to problems their survey reveals. 

I am appalled and  saddened that our profession is being stained by the careless actions of some of our colleagues.