Opinion ID: 886464
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Land Surveys

Text: ¶ 21 In 1905, Ralph and Howard Bushnell surveyed Section 32, Township 6 South, Range 4 East, Gallatin County, Montana, under contract to the United States Government. The Bushnells established corners at half-mile intervals for creating sections and quarter sections. They started from the corner of Sections 4, 5, 32 and 33, and proceeded north 0 degrees 4 feet west between Sections 32 and 33. At 40 chains, or halfway between section lines, they placed a 16 inch by 9 inch by 5 inch granite stone 11 inches into the ground. The inscription ¼ was marked on its west face. The stone monumented the east quarter corner of Section 32 and denotes the eastern terminus of the east-west quarter section line through Section 32. This quarter section corner lies at the center of Highway 191. ¶ 22 In 1953, the Montana State Highway Commission surveyed a portion of Section 32 near what later became the Big Horn Tract. The Commission's survey located the center line for Highway 191. This survey also depicted the east quarter corner of Section 32 close to the center line of Highway 191. ¶ 23 In 1957, the Zollingers hired Earl Best to survey and prepare the subdivision plat for the Big Horn Tract. In his Certificate of Surveyor on Plat E-52, Best certified that iron pin monuments were set at all external and lot corners of the Big Horn Tract. The Certificate of Dedication on Plat E-52 described the Big Horn Tract's boundaries by reference to the ten corners where Best set monuments and it identified the total acreage of the tract as 14.494 acres, more or less. However, none of the Big Horn Tract's corners are identified as being coincident with any government corner or government monument. Plat E-52 also identifies the acreage for each lot. The Dawes-Fishbaugh parcel is shown on Plat E-52 as Lot D even though it was not part of the Big Horn Tract. ¶ 24 Testimony at the trial in this matter showed that Best committed several errors while surveying the Big Horn Tract including: (1) failing to use proper methodology to survey the property; (2) incorrectly locating the original government corner for the starting point of the Big Horn Tract survey as it is identified on the plat; (3) failing to retrace and follow the footsteps of the previous government survey that created Section 32; (4) failing to correctly locate the east-west quarter section line of Section 32; (5) failing to locate and properly identify the east quarter corner of Section 32; (6) incorrectly locating and identifying the Dawes-Fishbaugh parcel that is identified as Lot D of the Big Horn Tract; and (7) incorrectly identifying the total acreage for Lot G of the Big Horn Tract. ¶ 25 Best's failure to correctly retrace the east-west quarter section line created a discrepancy between the description contained in the Zollinger's Certificate of Dedication on Plat E-52 and the location of the monuments Best set pursuant to the survey. While the Certificate of Dedication and Plat E-52 itself identify the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract as being along the east-west quarter section line, Best placed his monuments for the northern boundary 108 feet south of the east-west quarter section line. In the early 1970s, the State revoked Best's surveying license for errors similar to the ones he committed with the Big Horn Tract survey. ¶ 26 In 1959, the Bureau of Land Management resurveyed Section 32 and set new corner monuments. And, in 1970, Louis Tout of Tout & Company conducted a survey of the subject quarter of Section 32 for Big Sky. Tout identified a boundary problem along the east-west quarter section line for Section 32. In a memo dated August 27, 1970, Tout noted the discrepancy between the original 1905 United States Government survey that monumented the east quarter corner of Section 32 and where Best referenced the quarter corner location. ¶ 27 In November 1994, Ron Allen of Allen & Associates surveyed the location of monuments in the Big Horn Tract for Boyne. Allen relied on Best's erroneously placed monuments to locate the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract. Allen identified the strip of land located between the northernmost monuments placed by Best and the east-west quarter section line (an area approximately 108 feet by 1200 feet and equaling almost 3 acres) as Tract 1 when he prepared COS 1898. Thereafter, Boyne claimed ownership of Tract 1, COS 1898, contending that it was not part of the Big Horn Tract, therefore, it was never conveyed to the Judes. Allen filed COS 1898 with the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder's Office on July 7, 1995. ¶ 28 In the latter part of 1994, the Judes began construction of a cabin on the now disputed parcel identified as Tract 1, COS 1898. After the construction of the cabin had already begun, the Judes learned that Boyne claimed ownership of Tract 1, COS 1898. Nevertheless, the Judes continued with the construction of the cabin. The completed cabin is a two story, two bedroom log structure with an attached garage. The cabin's foundation extends 33.15 feet into Tract 1, COS 1898. ¶ 29 In September 1994, an architectural firm hired by the Judes retained Mark Chandler with C & H Engineering and Surveying, Inc., to survey topographical features of the south end of the Big Horn Tract for the design of improvements on that portion of the property. In March 1995, Chandler discovered the material discrepancy between Best's placed monuments and the east-west quarter section line of Section 32. After a search, Chandler found two of Best's monuments in the northeast portion of the Big Horn Tract; four of Best's monuments along the common boundary with U.S. Highway 191; and two of Best's monuments on the south boundary of the Big Horn Tract. Based upon the found monuments, Chandler computed likely positions for the remaining monuments of the Big Horn Tract, and, based upon his computations, Chandler also determined that Best placed his monuments short of the east-west quarter section line for Section 32 by almost 112 feet. ¶ 30 Because of the language contained in the Certificate of Dedication provided on Plat E-52 and because Plat E-52 references the east quarter corner and west quarter corner of Section 32 for the location of the northern boundary line of the Big Horn Tract, Chandler opined that it was the Zollingers' intention that the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract be located along the east-west quarter section line of Section 32, not at the point where Best set his monuments. Consequently, in August 1995, Chandler prepared a correction plat of the Big Horn Tract for submission to the Gallatin County Planning Office. This plat depicted the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract along the east-west quarter section line of Section 32. However, because Chandler's plat constituted a material alteration of a previously filed plat (COS 1898), the Gallatin County Planning Office would not accept it. Thereafter, Chandler submitted a Certificate of Survey depicting the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract along the east-west quarter section line of Section 32. The Gallatin County Planning Office refused to take action on this Certificate of Survey due to the ownership issues concerning the property. ¶ 31 On October 27, 1995, Boyne filed its complaint against the Judes seeking to quiet title to Tract 1, COS 1898. Boyne also sought to quiet title to the cabin and other improvements made by the Judes on Tract 1, COS 1898, as well as damages for the Judes' allegedly wrongful occupation of Tract 1, COS 1898. In their answer and counterclaim, the Judes alleged that they own Tract 1, COS 1898, that COS 1898 is a cloud on the title of their lots, and that COS 1898 should be canceled. Originally, the Judes asserted that they also owned Tract 1, COS 1898 under the theory of adverse possession. However, they later conceded that because the evidence indicated that they had not paid the property taxes on Tract 1, COS 1898 as they had believed, they could not establish adverse possession. ¶ 32 Following a three-day bench trial, the District Court issued its Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law wherein it determined that because original monuments control the location of boundaries, Plat E-52's references to the 1905 United States Government survey control the location of the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract. Consequently, the court concluded that the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract is along the east-west quarter section line of Section 32, hence Tract 1, COS 1898 is part of the Big Horn Tract. The court also concluded that the Judes own Tract 1, COS 1898 and that they are entitled to the quiet and peaceful possession of that property and to the improvements located thereon. The Court ordered that COS 1898 be stricken from the records of the Gallatin County Clerk and Recorder's Office and that the Judes prepare and file a new instrument that describes the northern boundary of the Big Horn Tract as being along the east-west quarter section line of Section 32. ¶ 33 On January 22, 2001, the court entered Judgment in favor of the Judes and awarded the Judes $676.58 in costs. Olson appeals.