Opinion ID: 890336
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Survey Monuments

Text: ¶32 The City first argues that the District Court failed to consider survey monuments on the ground. It is well established that, [i]n ascertaining the lines of land or in re-establishing the lines of a survey, the footsteps of the original surveyor, so far as discoverable on the ground, should be followed and it is immaterial if the lines actually run by the original surveyor are incorrect. In surveying a tract of land according to a former plat or survey, the surveyor’s only duty is to relocate, upon the best evidence obtainable, the courses and lines at the same place where originally located by the first surveyor on the ground. Vaught, 116 Mont. at 550, 155 P.2d at 616 (citations, emphasis, and internal quotation marks omitted); accord Larsen, ¶ 32; Robillard & Wilson, Brown’s Boundary Control and Legal Principles § 10.4, 268. As a corollary, it is also well settled that “what the original surveyor actually did by way of monumenting his survey on the ground takes precedence over what he intended to do as shown by his written plat of survey.” Tyson v. Edwards, 433 So. 2d 549, 552-53 (Fla. 5th Dist. App. 1983) (explaining the rationale for this rule); accord Price v. Mauch, 616 S.W.2d 738, 740 (Ark. App. 1981); Arnold v. 19 Hanson, 204 P.2d 97, 98-99 (Cal. App. 3d Dist. 1949); Phillippe v. Horns, 196 N.W.2d 382, 384 (Neb. 1972); DD&L v. Burgess, 753 P.2d 561, 564 (Wash. App. Div. 1 1988); Robillard & Wilson, Brown’s Boundary Control and Legal Principles § 12.12, 370-71. ¶33 Citing these principles, the City maintains that the District Court erroneously relied on “inaccurate” subdivision plats and certificates of dedication, rather than on the monuments set by Bonner, to determine South Avenue’s width. We disagree. The rule that a plat yields to original monuments on the ground presupposes that such monuments were set and have been located by the retracing surveyor. Here, had McCarthy found original monuments set by Bonner in South Avenue (or monuments set by others and known to perpetuate the positions of the original monuments set by Bonner), those monuments would have taken precedence over the plats in determining South Avenue’s position and dimensions. Tyson, 433 So. 2d at 552-53; Larsen, ¶¶ 44, 54 (discussing the priority of calls); § 70-20-201(2), MCA; Robillard & Bouman, Clark on Surveying and Boundaries § 21.10, 705. McCarthy did not find original monuments (or perpetuations of original monuments) set by Bonner in South Avenue, however. He found them in neighboring streets instead—Sussex and Livingston in particular. He then relied on those monuments and the measurements of lots and alleys stated on the face of the Car Line plats to deduce South Avenue’s dimensions. The District Court advised the City at the end of trial that it did not “question the surveying that was done by Mr. McCarthy.” The court accepted the Bonner monuments McCarthy had found in Sussex and Livingston and upon which he had relied in making his retracement. The court simply disagreed with McCarthy’s opinion as to where the excess land belonged. 20 ¶34 As explained, the measurements on the Car Line plats indicate that the distance between the centerlines of Sussex and Livingston is 664 feet. Yet, the actual distance— based on the original monuments McCarthy found in Sussex and Livingston—ranges from 683 feet to 695 feet. The issue is whether the excess land (ranging from 19 feet to 31 feet in width) belongs in South Avenue. Again, no original Bonner monuments that might answer this question have been found in South Avenue. In lieu of such evidence, the District Court relied on information provided on the Car Line plats. Contrary to the City’s supposition, this was not error. Robillard & Wilson, Brown’s Boundary Control and Legal Principles § 12.12, 371 (“When facts cannot be established on the ground— that is, the lines were never run on the ground or are lost completely—the data on the map are the best available evidence.”).