I'm sure this has been talked about before but I could't find the search button.
Big Corporation flexing it's muscle to get Surveyor to certify Mineral Right's, Leasing Agreement's and others that do not apply to Professional Surveying
What say ya'll ?
Big Corporation flexing it’s muscle
Muscle doesn't reduce my liability or even get my attention. And I don't care how big a client is.
On the other hand, an offer to negotiate standards and certifications, plus the requisite boatloads of money for taking on additional liability, will get my attention. It may not hold my attention or lead to me agreeing to anything at all, but it's a start.
Tell them that you could sign on those things, but it wouldn't do them any good. Since these things are not survey things, your insurer won't back you up.
Remember, you don't want or need all the jobs. Sometimes you just have to say no.
Mineral Rights?
Leasing Agreements I assume between a development Co. and Mineral Right owner?
Then there is the surface owner, often two different owners, or a hundred different owners.
Yeah, that always will always be outside my purview as a surveyor.
Stay far away from that certification.
Surveyor to certify "Mineral Rights, Leasing Agreements"
Not sure what they are asking but I have had to deal with things like this every now and then. It's not much to certify what you have been made aware of at the time of the survey. Many times I have had to review lease agreements and they have generated plottable areas, allocated rights of different onsite tenants, and or Plottable restrictions.
For Mineral rights, I don't think its too much to factually add a note like:
There were no visible indications of Mineral Claims on the site and no documents have been provided to the surveyor mentioning them.
For Lease agreements, I will tend to review and comment on a case by case basis.
Water and Mineral rights are items left off of ALTA requests. At least ones I've encountered.
However, these are important items. Mineral rights should be left to Mineral Title people, if they want to join in with a certification fine, but I'm not a lawyer. Imagine some of my personal Mineral Rights shown on an ALTA, I'm less than 1% for one of my mineral right properties and about 4% on another property. Good luck sorting through all that as a Land Surveyor.
Water rights are a state by state issue, in my state I'm a Water Rights expert, but if you need a certification that's normally 18 months and $xx,xxx. No problem if that's truly needed, but for an ALTA they don't want to give it the time necessary. I'm not about to "certify" a Water Rights Tabulation map. That's simply an opinion without the backing of petitions, consents or board approvals.
To do a subdivision, Water Rights have to be taken care of but mineral rights are a note on the plat; a CYA statement only.
Look at Moorcroft vs Lang if you need a reason to stay out of that quagmire. Be very careful of them.
I had to laugh when the client says..."but all the other surveyors do it"
