Here is the sitiuation.
land owner "A" leases to cattle owner "a" and land owner "B" leases to cattle owner "b",
"a" and "b" start fighting like grade schoolers and it develops into restraining orders being filed against "a" restricting him or his agent from being within 100 yards of the property line.
"a" hires a surveyor to stake the line.
Has "a" violated the restraining order? Is the surveyor guilty of anything other than poor practice? All he did was stake points on line between two monuments pointed out by "a".
Maybe we should be checking for restraining orders before accepting any land dispute surveys.
Should the surveyor have known there was a restraining order? I mean, was he told beforehand? If so, yes. If not, I think no.
But, in Oregon, the right of entry law requires that the neighbor be notified before a survey of a common line is commenced. That usually means knocking on the neighbors' door. If the surveyor did so he would probably learn about the restraining order, which would put the kibosh on his innocence.
So, the surveyor may not be guilty of violating the restraining order but might be guilty of trespassing and violating the ROE law.
I think I would rather take my chances with the restraining order violation.
vern, post: 335672, member: 3436 wrote: him or his agent
Is someone hired to perform a boundary survey legally an agent?
In one sense, an agent is a person you authorize to do something instead of you doing it yourself. The surveyor is not doing something in place of (a) because it is something (a) cannot do.
vern, post: 335672, member: 3436 wrote: Here is the sitiuation.
land owner "A" leases to cattle owner "a" and land owner "B" leases to cattle owner "b",
"a" and "b" start fighting like grade schoolers and it develops into restraining orders being filed against "a" restricting him or his agent from being within 100 yards of the property line.
"a" hires a surveyor to stake the line.
Has "a" violated the restraining order? Is the surveyor guilty of anything other than poor practice? All he did was stake points on line between two monuments pointed out by "a".
Maybe we should be checking for restraining orders before accepting any land dispute surveys.
The surveyor should have notified owners A and B prior as well as the court prior to beginning work. May have been necessary to have an escort representing the actual owners and the court. The court may also have requested the 100 foot offset be clearly marked in the field. Anything else is asking to be pulled into the middle of a bad situation.
Dallas Morlan, post: 335701, member: 6020 wrote: The surveyor should have notified owners A and B prior as well as the court prior to beginning work. May have been necessary to have an escort representing the actual owners and the court. The court may also have requested the 100 foot offset be clearly marked in the field. Anything else is asking to be pulled into the middle of a bad situation.
As I have dug a little deeper (called the surveyor), I discover that the surveyor did some work for "A" and "a" on an adjacent piece of land years ago. He was apparently called in by "a" to stake "A"'s line on a good ole boy favor type deal. I don't believe he has a contracted job and likely isn't getting paid for his effort. He probably didn't have a clue of all the drama unfolding. I think "a" violated the order by calling him in, and instructed him to do something that jeopardizes his license. Last spring "A" and "B" made a property line agreement in the field which "a" was aware of, "a" instructed the surveyor to do something other than that agreement.
The only person's opinion that matters is the Judge who issued the restraining order. I cannot imagine why the Surveyor would have any liability; however, a Judge has never asked my opinion. If the Surveyor knew about the restraining order, he would be using poor judgement to proceed without a clear understanding with the Judge.
Let me get this right, a is restrained from land he leases. In my opinion the judge has taken land without compensation.
If 100 yards is indeed the restraint then that 100 yard line must first be established. The judge has in effect ordered the surveyor to first find the property line. I would say the surveyor is in effect an agent of the court.
In my opinion the restraining order is sufficient notice to B or b that the surveyor will be there.
Paul in PA
It's not at all complex. The party ordering the survey has clearly violated the order. The Judge will decide whether or not to take it up. The Surveyor dropped the ball on 2 counts. He failed to ask why he was bring retained and he (apparently) failed to follow sound practice of notifying the land owner.
The rest does get sticky. Had the Surveyor followed ROE procedure he would have known about the order. The Judge might see that as could and should have known about it. In some places that's a felony. Anyone predicting the outcome of that scenario has a better crystal ball than I do...
