All posts by Jeff Lucas
Let’s Get Real About Property
One of the more serious problems with the surveying profession is our schizophrenic relationship with property and the associated property rights. For my entire professional surveying career, too many surveyors seem to think we have nothing to do with property rights; that our job is to simply layout the math and measurements contained in the...
Title Insurance and Boundary Surveys
Legal Boundaries What many surveyors might not know about title insurance and boundary surveys is they are intricately intertwined, due primarily to the unilateral efforts of the title companies issuing title insurance policies. Unilateral in the sense that the title company can issue a title policy with what is refers to as “survey coverage,” on...
Testifying as an Expert
Legal Boundaries A boundary dispute case, or any case involving surveying, surveyors, landowners, and property rights (“property disputes”) is a different breed of civil litigation from most others. There are many unique aspects of this type of litigation not common to other cases. The biggest difference is that the parties are paying for the litigation...
Unwritten Rights
Legal Boundaries Misnomer or Misconception A misnomer is “a wrong name or inappropriate designation,” the “use of a wrong or inappropriate name.” (Webster’s) Otherwise stated, “a misnomer is a particular kind of mistake in labeling.” (Google) A misconception, on the other hand, is a “wrong or inaccurate idea or conception.” (Webster’s) Another way of phrasing...
Boundary by Acquiescence
Legal Boundaries This time around we have a question from a Georgia reader about the doctrine of acquiescence and applying it to an existing fence that does not match the deeded measurements. Question: In the case of a line of acquiescence with an existing fence that has a history, would I...
Legal Boundaries: Deed Interpretation
Last time around we discussed the Rules of Construction, court-made rules for the interpretation of written documents when they are confusing, uncertain, ambiguous, or in conflict. Piggybacking that discussion, this time around we will talk about some basic deed interpretation, which often requires application of the rules of construction. The three primary forms of deeds...
