Print this page Priority of Calls in Boundary Surveying
Patrick C. Garner, PLS
Course Outline
You'll learn how certain types of evidence is considered more reliable--and legally defendable--than others. You will be presented with court decisions governing boundary resolution, and then review case studies that reflect real-world situations.
This course includes
a multiple choice quiz at the end,
Learning Objective
Upon the completion of this course you should be able to:
- Restate the purpose of priority of calls and know when the doctrine is applicable;
- Resolve a hypothetical conflict of evidence using priority of calls; and
- deeds, plans and conveyances to highlight conflicts of evidence.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for land surveyors. It also provides essential information to engineers and real estate attorneys.
Benefit to Attendees
The attendee of this course will have the tools for correct decision-making when faced with conflicting information in a retracement survey.
Course Introduction
The purpose of a resurvey is merely to ascertain lines of original survey, and original boundaries and monuments, and parties cannot be bound by any survey not based on that originally made.
--Day v. Stenger, 274 P. 112 (Idaho, 1929)
A land surveyor is either the original surveyor of a parcel or follows in the footsteps of the original surveyor. All boundary law builds on that presumption. This principle is the backbone of surveying. There is no gray area between the two positions. You are either the original surveyor, or you are not. If you are not, you are retracing the original surveyor’s work.
Boundary resolution is a high stakes undertaking, and a professional land surveyor needs every tool in the surveying toolbox to justify conclusions. When retracing boundaries a surveyor gathers extensive evidence, including recorded deeds and plans, and physical on-ground evidence as a result of field work. The totality of that evidence must be evaluated.
A retracement survey has as its sole goal the reestablishment of the original boundary--not the staking of the bearings and distances recited in an associated deed. There is a vast difference between the two tasks--the first is surveying and second is not. Consequently, a large part of this course focuses on proper retracement decisions.
Proper retracement depends upon priority of calls, that is, the legal doctrine specifying the importance of each piece of evidence. Priority of calls only affects boundary retracements. Or put another way, surveyors making their own boundaries are not concerned whatsoever with the legal order of priorities that controls a retracement survey.
Course
Content
More than a century of authoritative court decisions provide consistent direction for retracement surveys. This course reviews the well-established doctrines for weighing calls (evidence), and examines various situations where land surveyors frequently err in decision-making when confronted with conflicting evidence, poorly defined boundaries and inconsistent documentation.
The course content is contained in the following PDF file:
Priority of Calls in Boundary Surveying
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Course
Summary
Original surveyors create new boundaries from within larger parcels. They are not concerned with evidence or with multiple corners. On the other hand, retracement surveyors encounter conflicting boundary evidence in the field almost every day, and it is the task of the retracement surveyor to resolve inconsistencies. Misapplication of priority of calls among retracement surveyors is common.
Key among them is the conflict between deed descriptions and plan information versus what is actually found on the ground. Another is property corners found, and differences between the angles and bearings shown on a deed or plan and those measured on the ground.
These common problems are not resolved or even recognized by surveyors who view boundary surveys as simply recreating deed calls. Land surveyors who fail to think like forensic investigators become mere craftsmen and arguably perform a public disservice with every “survey” they perform. Proper retracement surveying requires gathering evidence, weighing that evidence objectively and then applying the correct priority of calls to the data. Correct retracement analysis can become quite complex. Thinking like Sherlock Holmes is appropriate; thinking that you gave a lowball quote to a client and have only limited time to complete your work is not appropriate.
For well over a century, courts throughout this country have provided consistent direction in numerous legal decisions. A review of these decisions leads to an inarguable conclusion: Rarely is “deed staking” during retracement surveying--no matter how mathematically precise--appropriate.
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
