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Professional Land Surveyors of Oregon | www.plso.org
(POB) is defined as the NE 1/16 section corner! Interestingly,
the bearings of the out bounds of the 10-acre tract are
recorded to the nearest second and the distances along each
course are shown to the nearest one-hundredth of a foot
(there are those warning bells again)!
The local surveyor performed a legitimate subdivision of
the section to arrive at the location of the POB and
computed the location of the fence lines to be built based
on aliquot parts (as there was no reference in the deed to
the basis of bearing), relying on previous work he’d done in
the area to help reduce his price. On the face of it, things
look uncluttered. There was one oddity on the copy of the
work map; the map showed found iron pipes near each of
the fence corner stakes and they varied in distance from
the to-be-staked fence corners by anywhere from three to
fifteen feet away. However, all
were galvanized iron and sizes
ranged from 1/2 inch to a full
one inch inside diameter. Now
that was at least one more red
flag! Where did they come from
and, once you started thinking
about it, a flood of other
questions popped into your head
when confronted with found
monuments in the vicinity of the
computed locations of the corners of the aliquot parcel?
Now the surveyor in you and all your experience kicks in.
It’s called a puzzle, a geospatial and historical research
puzzle, but one that just naturally starts you thinking of
how to solve this mystery.
Using the work map as a basis, you compute the exterior
dimensions of the parcel as if the found monuments
defined it. Coincidentally or not, the area defined by the
found iron pipes is nearly 10 acres! The angular relation
ships between these same exteriors, though not entirely
conforming to the deed record relationships, seem to
indicate that those iron pipes were established by someone
with a knowledge of surveying. They could be construed to
accurately depict the boundaries of the 10-acre parcel if the,
as yet unknown, surveyor had performed a boundary
survey over 40 years ago using the tools then available and
prior to the purchase of the adjoining parcel by the hostile
neighbor! The concept of standards of practice in effect at
the time of a survey done 40 years ago (or more) can’t help
but make you wonder.
The puzzle
Your first thought after analyzing the deed and dissecting
the work map was that talking to the hostile neighbor was
necessary, just to find out what he knows. Of course, you
couldn’t let the prospective client know what you were up
to, but since you don’t have a signed contract as yet, you’re
under no “loyalty” agreement to an unknown woman who
hasn’t paid you a dime. Contacting a friend who just
happened to live a few miles from the property, you ask
him if he knows the hostile neighbor and if so, whether he
could dredge up a telephone number in hopes of setting up
a meeting to discuss the issues. Interestingly, he does and,
as a courtesy, he’ll arrange it for you, as his rapport with
this particular gentleman may save you from a confrontation
that might not help over the course of doing the work.
It still wasn’t too late to contact the neighbor and it wasn’t
around dinner time, so you take a chance and call. His wife
answers the phone and after a brief “cold call” introduction
to gain an audience, she yells through the house to her
husband (so you can hear every word) that he has a call
from some surveyor and please pick up the phone. So much
for telephone manners and so much for having to start the
conversation in a courteous and respectful manner because
based upon the relationship this person has not developed
with his California neighbor, you are perceived as an enemy
before you get a chance to open your mouth!
After the expected hostile greeting, you steer the
conversation away from the emotions surrounding the
issue and state very clearly and forcefully that you are
not
under contract with this woman. Now, you are merely
trying to discern some additional background and would it
be possible to come by their home to sit down man-to-man
and discuss the issues, talk about the history of their
ownership and any other salient information that may help
you understand this apparent dispute. Reluctantly, the
neighbor agrees and you set up a time to meet a couple of
days hence. Meanwhile, you take some time the following
morning to do further research of the deed and survey
records, focusing on the descriptions of the adjoining
parcels. The thought occurs to you that all the descriptions
were prepared by the same scrivener, as all bearing calls are
to the nearest second and distances to the hundredth of a
foot. Not surprisingly, adjoining lines all show the same
bearings and equal distances, so at the very least, someone
THE CASE FOR CARRYING E & O INSURANCE
The consequences of having to ante up a ton
of money to remedy a mistake may not result
in your own demise, but almost certainly may
end in the demise of your sole proprietorship.
