Deed Conflicts and Intention (extracted from another thread)

[dmi]

Dave, I appreciate your pointing out the pitfalls. The nightmares of what has happened to some real world surveyors is a tragedy for all concerned. I am entertaining the dicussion and bringing other issues to the table for consideration.

On the matter of the Title company, title companies are business entities and they make business decisions that are influenced by such factors as their own unique models and business plans and market forces. Some of these companies are good and some not so much.

But more to your point, NO title companies will not insure the 2', generally speaking. A title company, will normally, insure ONLY THE LEGAL DESCRIPTION.

THERE IS NOTHING A SURVEYOR CAN DO TO PROVIDE A CLIENT WITH MARKETABLE TITLE.

The surveyor can assist in the process, but a surveyor's opinion ALONE will not magically fix title issues.

BTW is the horror story you mention an appeal court decision? I would like to read that case.

[Dave Karoly, PLS]

I can go broke winning lawsuits.

In my experience, lawsuits settle for one of 10 reasons, 1. money, 2. money, 3. money, 4. money, 5. money, 6. money, 7. money, 8. money, 9. money and 10. money. They almost never settle because of the correct law or facts of the case. Heck a flying club I was a member of offered a plaintiff 850k and they turned it down. We did it just to dispose of the case. We went on to persuade the jury that we had absolutely positively no responsibility for the crash that was the subject of the suit. If the 850k had been accepted I guess someone could have pointed to it to prove how wrong we were but it would have proved nothing other than we just wanted to quit wasting money on a lawsuit.

John Briscoe is an internationally known real property surveyor right here in California, from the preface of his book:
"In these [land] cases the expert's role, for reasons this book may partly disclose, is much more like the lawyer's role than is the part of an expert in virtually any other kind of case."

"By contrast, the land expert, in making a survey or in forming an opinion as to the title, value, or location of property, applies law in the same way as a lawyer who is drafting deeds or subdivision restrictions."

-from the Introduction to Surveying the Courtroom, A Land Expert's Guide to Evidence and Civil Procedure, Second Edition, John Briscoe.

There is more but it is dinner time.

The trouble with our Profession is we have a lot of responsibility but no authority but the property owners believe we have some magic power that the can rely on. Obviously this is not the case. A proper determination should be made while keeping the risk with the property owner where it belongs.

[dmi]

HE IS NOT A LAND SURVEYOR . GOTTA GO SOMEONE ELSE IS WRONG ON THE INTERNET SOMEWHERE...

[Dave Karoly, PLS]

Dane, posting on the internet is an endless game of wackamole.

Real side of the road story:
I was crossing a busy county road (one lane each way) at the T intersection with a state highway. I got to the centerline when someone coming around off the state highway onto the county road stopped right there in the traffic lane, backing everything up behind him, rolled down his window and asked, "How much to survey my half acre?" This is what we are up against.

I said, "I have no idea, I work for the State, use the yellow pages."

Someone stopped and asked my subordinate employee if her tire is flat (true story). People are crazy.