The Overlap at the Old Fence Line
You are retracing Lot 14 of a 1958 subdivision. The plat shows Lot 14 as 100.0 ft wide on the north line, bounded on the east by Lot 15 and on the west by Lot 13. Your field survey, run from two found original monuments (a 1-inch iron pipe at the NW corner of Lot 14 and one at the NE corner), measures 100.6 ft between them. The adjoiner to the east, Lot 15, was conveyed in 1972 by a deed calling for 'the west 100 feet of Lot 15 as shown on said plat.' That deed's grantee has maintained a fence 0.6 ft west of your NE monument line for 45 years, and the fence is shown on an unrecorded 1985 survey you obtained from the county. The current Lot 14 owner has a 2019 deed referencing the plat only.
1. What is the controlling boundary for the east line of Lot 14, and how do you resolve the 0.6 ft discrepancy?
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The plat controls the original lot lines; the original monuments at the NW and NE corners of Lot 14 are the best evidence of the plat. The measured 100.6 ft is the record distance as monumented, so the monuments govern over the 100.0 ft plat dimension (monuments over distances). The 1972 deed to Lot 15 conveyed 'the west 100 feet of Lot 15' - a deed distance that conflicts with the plat line by 0.6 ft. A deed cannot convey land the grantor does not own, and the plat line is the senior boundary. The 45-year fence is evidence of adverse possession or boundary by acquiescence, but acquiescence requires a dispute or recognition of a line as the boundary; a fence alone, built by a neighbor, does not move a platted line. The unrecorded 1985 survey carries no legal weight. Conclusion: the east line of Lot 14 is the plat line as monumented; the 0.6 ft strip belongs to Lot 14 unless the Lot 15 owner can prove statutory adverse possession (10 years, Ala. Code § 6-5-200 et seq.) or prescriptive easement - advise the client and document the finding.
2. If the Lot 15 owner files suit claiming the fence line, what is your professional obligation regarding your survey and the 1985 survey?
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You must survey and monument the boundary you determine to be legally correct - the plat/monument line - not the fence line. You may show the fence and the 1985 survey as 'occupation lines' on your map, clearly labeled as not the boundary. You must not alter or conceal evidence; if you relied on the 1985 survey, note it as an unrecorded source. If called as a witness, testify to facts and your reasoning, not to a legal conclusion. Under Alabama Board rules, you may not practice law or give a legal opinion on title; refer the adverse possession question to counsel. Retain your field notes and computations.