Opinion ID: 2623510
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: deed reformation claim

Text: ¶ 10 On April 10, 1967, Alton and Grethe Veibell conveyed by warranty deed (the 1967 deed) a portion of Section 23 south of the fence that ran along the 111.5 rod mark to J. Durell Ericksen and Leola J. Ericksen. The 1967 deed contained the following metes and bounds description of the conveyed property: Part of the East-half of Section 23, Township 12 North, Range 2 West, SLM, described further as: Beginning at a point in the N-S centerline of said Section 23, said point being South 2007.8 feet and West 2645.3 feet (South 111.5 rods and West 160 Rods by record) from the NE Corner of said Section 23; thence North 81 ¶ 11 The northern boundary of the conveyed property runs along a fence line that slants slightly to the northeast. The eastern boundary contains three slanted legs. The northernmost two legs run alongside Willow Creek, but the southernmost leg veers slightly west of the creek. The southern boundary runs due west along the south line of Section 23. The western boundary runs due north along the N-S centerline of Section 23. ¶ 12 The above metes and bounds description contains two errors that give rise to this dispute. First, the true distance from the southeast corner of the conveyed property to the N-S centerline is approximately 816.75 feet, not 927.7 feet as described in the 1967 deed. Due to this error, the property description does not close, and the southern boundary extends 110 feet onto property not owned by the Veibells at the time of the transfer. Second, the 1967 deed purports to convey in all 75.8 acres, more or less, but in reality the conveyed property contains only 64.5 acres. Presumably, the error in calculating the acreage resulted from the mistaken call of the southern boundary. ¶ 13 Alton Veibell testified that he and Durell Ericksen negotiated the boundaries prior to the sale of the conveyed property. Regarding the proposed eastern boundary, Veibell testified that he placed four stakes to mark the three slanted legs of the boundary and that these stakes were originally all on the west side of Willow Creek, leaving the creek entirely on Veibell's property. Alton Veibell further testified that he and Durell Ericksen walked the proposed eastern line and that at Ericksen's request they moved the second stake from the north slightly eastward from its original position so that a small portion of Willow Creek lay on Ericksen's side of the boundary. Ericksen desired this accommodation because he wanted access to the water on the north end of the conveyed property. The parties agreed upon this placement of the eastern boundary. Alton Veibell testified that he and Durell Ericksen never discussed a specific number of acres to be conveyed. Rather, he stated, We were just selling from this point to this point and this point to this point. ¶ 14 After agreeing upon the boundaries, Durell Ericksen hired Erwin Moser, a surveyor, to survey the property. The legal description of the conveyed property was taken from the metes and bounds description on the surveyor's certificate created by Moser. Jeff Hansen, a licensed surveyor, surveyed the property again in connection with this litigation and found a survey pin that Moser had left in the ground in the exact place the eastern and northern record boundaries meet. Hansen testified that the location of the Moser pin indicated that Moser intended the northern boundary to be the length stated in the deed. When Hansen surveyed the property, he accepted the call of the northern boundary and resolved the inconsistency in the property description by shortening the call of the southern border. ¶ 15 Veibell and Ericksen negotiated a purchase price of $175 per acre. Believing the property encompassed by the agreed upon boundaries contained seventy-five acres, they agreed upon a total price of $13,125. The parties executed a real estate contract memorializing the transaction. The contract recited the purchase price and contained the same property description as the 1967 deed, including the erroneous statement that the parcel contained in all 75.8 acres more or less. ¶ 16 The Ericksens have paid property taxes on 75.8 acres since the 1967 transfer. Joel Henry, an employee of the Box Elder County Recorder's Office, testified that the county taxed the partnership for 75.8 acres in reliance on the acreage description in the 1967 deed. ¶ 17 Within a few years after the 1967 transaction, Alton Veibell hired Paul Palmer to erect a fence following Willow Creek along the length of the east side of the conveyed property. The northern portion of the fence Palmer built runs within several feet of the east record boundary line on the Ericksens' side of the boundary. However, on the south end, the fence and the creek deviate to the east of the record boundary line onto Veibell's land. At the southernmost point, the creek and the fence are over fifty feet east of the record boundary. Palmer testified that he began to build the fence in the southeast corner of what Mr. Ericksen had bought from Alton, but that at Durell Ericksen's insistence, he eventually moved the fence to its current position at least fifty feet to the east onto Veibell's property. Veibell testified that both he and Durell Ericksen realized that this placement of the southern portion of the fence did not trace the record boundary, but they agreed upon its placement on Veibell's property so that the Ericksens' horses could access the south end of the creek. Palmer confirmed that he understood the fence was built out of convenience, rather than as a boundary, so that the Ericksens' livestock could water in the creek. ¶ 18 A large, deep gully runs across the southeast end of the property transferred to the Partnership in 1967. If the eastern boundary is located in the position indicated by the 1967 deed, the gully effectively cuts off the Ericksens' ability to access the southeast corner of their property over their own land.