I am conducting a state survey, the survey dept. has issued me survey instructions on a very complicated and title problem riddled area, a couple of the tasks are a little hard for me sign off on.
- It is the surveyors responsibility to insure all research is complete
,
How do I take on this liability?
- All significant improvements and encroachments within this survey shall be field located and shown on the plat.
I did a detailed topography survey of the area and submitted to fulfill this requirement. Now they want distances to the "encroaching" features – they won’t tell me which ones are “significant in their opinion” This survey area is very built up, it encompasses our middle school, high school, city and borough offices to name a few and I am refusing to list distances to underground utilities as a distance along a boundary turns it into a monument reference and I am not comfortable with this.
Am I being overprotective?
I told them I will not identify encroachments but I would be happy to show intrusion, or apparent physical use.
> - It is the surveyors responsibility to insure all research is complete
> ,
> How do I take on this liability?
In my opinion you cannot as long as the word all remains contractually undefined. They need to define "research", plain and simple.
The underground locations will need to be located as is along the boundary that you mark and actually dug up to get an actual distance that I would certify to.
The research part would put you in the records room or allow you to let out the research to someone qualified. I have hired people just for that reason on a few projects where it took so much time out of a window that needed me out in field or analyzing the situation.
I don't like to declare encroachments myself. I show conflicts and will show how far they overlap each other by being an intrusion or protrusion depending upon which side of the correct boundary it falls.
Stand behind what you can actually prove and insist that if they want more what it will take to get you to sign the certification they want.
0.02
- It is the surveyors responsibility to insure all research is complete -
Even a title insurance company will not certify to that. At least I have never seen it. That's the reason for title insurance.
I don't think that I have ever labeled anything as an "encroachment". Maybe a "possible encroachment" or an "apparent encroachment". Usually I just show it on the plat in it's relationship to the boundary without further editorial comment.
> - It is the surveyors responsibility to insure all research is complete
> ,
> How do I take on this liability?
Well, to me "research" means abstracting the titles of the subject tract and those adjacent to it, including possibly one tract beyond. That last bit comes from having this last year seen a dispute arise between a tract supposedly separated by another tract from the subject tract. The tract one removed claimed ownership of not only a chunk of the intervening tract but a slice of the subject tract. It was almost certainly a dispute that originated in a surveying mistake, but, an unusual case, it would probably not have been detected without expanding the research.
Research also means examining the records of District Court and any other records that might be relevant to something disclosed by the boundary survey that a prudent surveyor would investigate.
In PLSSia, "research" probably has other aspects, such as examining the survey records. In Wisconsin, I believe the Miscellaneous Records are where it all should be to see whether the late Richard Schaut filed any. :>
If you're performing the service on time and expenses basis, I think you'll find it pays quite well to do a thorough job of research.
Stating that one has done all research possible is like saying you went out on the internet and hit the edge and had to stop because there was nowhere else to go. It simply can not happen. There is always at least one more thing or place to research further. It may not help in any way, but, it is still a possible thing to research.
Thanks for the input, it sounds like I am on the right track with my approach. In my opinion I could never do all of the research on a survey such as this. If it were a simple title chain within a simple subdivision I might think I could do all the research.
I purchase title reports and look at the records separately myself to verify and get the feel of a project to fulfill the research requirements. My title company has a statement on their report that states - XXXtitle company is only liable to the extent of the amount paid for this report. I wish I could do that, I would be xxxxxxx in high cotton.
Just being a spelling nazi but the meanings are quite different.
Did they mean insure or ensure?
I have no problem identifying encroachments. But I would definitely come up with a qualifying term such as visible above ground encroachments.
