Opinion ID: 2549584
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Location of Boundary

Text: [¶ 16] The Soucys challenge the court's decision accepting the Wendell survey and concluding that the boundary line was the more northern line. We review the determination of the location of boundaries on the face of the earth as a question of fact, which we will only disturb if clearly erroneous. McGrath v. Hills, 662 A.2d 215, 218 (Me.1995). [¶ 17] The Soucys argue that the court improperly relied on a 1974 survey of the disputed parcel by Francis Armstrong and on the Dupuis deed. However, the Armstrong survey was incorporated into the purchase and sale agreement between the original family and the Soucys, and the Soucy deed refers to the Armstrong survey. Further, the description of the Dupuis parcel in the Dupuis deed is the same as the description of the excepted property in the Soucy deed. The court's reliance on the Armstrong survey and the description in the Dupuis deed was not clearly erroneous. [¶ 18] At trial, Wendell testified that he was able to survey a marshy area of the Dupuis property by walking it in the summer or fall. Ellis testified that he found it difficult to walk this area because of the wetlands. Further, Wendell was able to align his survey more closely with the Armstrong survey, whereas Ellis, who had more points of disagreement with that survey, concluded that the Armstrong survey was mistaken or incorrect on these issues. The court's determination to assign more weight to Wendell's testimony and survey than to Ellis's is an appropriate exercise of its ability to judge the credibility of witnesses. See McGrath, 662 A.2d at 218 (The weight to be given to a surveyor's opinion is the prerogative of the factfinder.). [¶ 19] The court also determined that the boundary was the more northern line based on the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence, having found the following: there were pins at the northeast and northwest corners of the Dupuis property; Soucy knew in 1985 that Pelotte possessed the land and agreed to that line; there was no evidence of fraud or mistake; and Soucy acquiesced from 1985 until 2007 or 2008. See Hamlin v. Niedner, 2008 ME 130, ¶ 7, 955 A.2d 251, 254. Although Soucy disagreed about when the trees were planted and testified that Pelotte planted the trees around 1989 or 1990, he also stated that, at the time the trees were planted, he believed honestly that possibly that they were on the property now belonging to Dupuis. The court was entitled to judge Soucy's credibility. See Efstathiou v. Efstathiou, 2009 ME 107, ¶ 12, 982 A.2d 339, 343 (The trial court, as fact-finder and sole arbiter of witness credibility, may accept or reject portions of a witness' testimony.). [¶ 20] Because the trial court had discretion to make determinations about witness credibility and the opinions of each surveyor, we affirm the determination that the Soucy-Dupuis boundary is the more northern line as indicated on the Wendell survey.