I would certainly be interested in any material you would want to share.
I will have to slay this dragon on Monday, and I would prefer to be better armed.
thanks,
terry
How the heck am I supposed to determine no. 14?
Of course that probably has to do with mechanic's liens.
The property owner should certify no. 14, not the Surveyor.
Terry, first of all don't let anyone stampede you into signing something you're not comfortable with, no matter what the circumstances and no matter what they say. Second, you would not be doing anyone any good by accepting legal responsibility for matters that your E & O doesn't cover.
Your original proposal was no doubt for an ALTA survey under the standard 2011 Requirements. That means you agreed to sign the standard ALTA certification. You didn't agree to sign anything else.
It usually works pretty well to say that you are concerned about the wording of the certification and whether your E & O insurance company would cover it, and that you are seeking advice about it. Other posters have suggested contacting your insurance company and/or an attorney. I would do that under these circumstances, starting with the insurance company.
As mentioned, in choosing an attorney it would be best to get one who specializes in construction law. They understand this kind of thing. They charge higher rates than general-practice attorneys, but they don't waste any time.
The E & O insurance people I have talked with on this subject were very concerned about keeping their policy holders out of legal trouble. I don't know how fast your E & O carrier might respond, or how helpful they might be, but it would not cost anything to find out. They will have attorneys on staff, and you might get some very good advice for free.
Attached below is an article I wrote for our state society magazine in 1998 (I tried to upload a .pdf but couldn't make it work). It refers to some old ALTA provisions that we no longer need to worry about. But I also got some general advice on certifications from some attorneys and from material prepared by an insurance company, and you can read it there.
I have a good deal of other material on this subject. If you'd like to see more, drop me a line. E-mail in my profile is good: jay vee cee ell ess at aol dot com.
Are you also an attorney, because some of these
issues are legal issues. I will never sign one of these.
