Centerline

MightyMoe · 2021-01-18T23:08:00Z

I recently was in a discussion with some title people about ownership to the centerline of a road. The description in question reads all lands in NE4NW4 west of road. The road runs generally north-south and my opinion is that west of road means west of the the centerline.?ÿ I mentioned it to the title company and their response was that they hadn't ever heard that legal principal. So now that I have time and can see my opinion might be questioned I resolved to look at some case law and it didn't take much to call up a couple. One was a state Supreme Court case that's clear on the issue and recent 2012. The next one up was very interesting and recent (2020). A Florida case involving the rails to trails. ?ÿ This is a summary, if you want to read it, it's an interesting case: February 20, 2020 Federal Circuit: When Road Is The Property Boundary, Owner's Fee Goes Up To The "Centerline" They're?ÿcoming so fast, we can hardly keep up. Today, in?ÿCastillo v. United States, No. 19-1158 (Feb. 20, 2020), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit resolved a common issue in rails-to-trails takings cases: when a property owner holds title and her deed describes the land as bordering on a railroad line or other easement (or the property is described as a lot in a plat that shows the lot??s ??property line? as adjoining a road or railroad easement), does the owner of the adjoining fee estate own the fee interest up to the "centerline" of the right of way? Applying Florida property law, the court held yes, there is a presumption that the owner's title goes up to the "centerline." The court reversed the Court of Federal Claims's conclusion that the presumption did not apply, and that deeds describing the property as a ??less and except? a right-of-way, do not convey title to the fee estate in the land?ÿunder?ÿthe right-of-way. Although this case was resolved by applying Florida law, the centerline presumption is present in nearly every other state's property law, and the argument is frequently made by the Government in rails-to-trails cases nationwide that the owner's property stops at the edge of the road. The Federal Circuit's opinion noted that the centerline presumption is a doctrine in every state and has been long a fundamental doctrine of property law the Supreme Court has long recognized. Congratulations to colleagues Meghan Largent, Thor Hearne, and Stephen Davis for the win. Check it out.?ÿ Castillo v. United States, No. 19-1158 (Fed. Cir. Feb. 20, 2020)?ÿ Not sure if the link works, I only copied the article.?ÿ

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Strictly Surveying

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@aliquot

I agree.?ÿ My intention is right in setting witness corners along the side of the road, but the plat should indicate the centerline as the property line.?ÿ The descriptions (assuming the adjacent description is "lands east of the road") likely didn't intend to leave a strip of land between the properties.?ÿ Had I spent more time working on this particular survey, I would have come to the conclusion that the centerline is the property line.?ÿ Wherever it may be at the time of survey.?ÿ ?ÿ?ÿ

Posted : January 22, 2021 12:20 pm

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Centerline

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