The Plat That Certified Too Soon
You are the surveyor of record on a 60-lot subdivision plat recorded 14 months ago. A buyer of Lot 22 has discovered that his lot is 8 ft narrower than the plat dimension because the developer's grading contractor moved a monument during construction. The buyer's attorney sends you a demand letter alleging you certified the plat negligently and threatens a Board complaint. Your file shows: you set all monuments, you signed and sealed the plat, the plat bears the standard certificate, and you have a signed contract with the developer but no written contract with the buyer. The developer has since sold out and is judgment-proof. The buyer wants you to re-survey and reset the monument at your cost.
1. What are your obligations to the buyer and to the Board, and what should you do first?
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First, preserve and review your file: field notes, computations, the signed contract, the certificate language, and any construction-phase correspondence. Your duty to the public is real - a recorded plat you sealed is relied on by purchasers - but your contractual duty runs to the developer. Under Alabama Board rules, you must not alter records, must respond truthfully to a Board inquiry, and must not accept an assignment you cannot perform competently. Practically: (1) do not admit liability in writing; (2) offer to re-survey and determine whether the monument was moved post-recording (if so, the developer's contractor, not you, caused the loss); (3) if your original work was correct, reset the monument per the plat and document the disturbance; (4) notify your E&O carrier; (5) respond to the Board promptly and factually if a complaint is filed.
2. If your original survey was correct but the monument was disturbed, who bears the cost of the re-survey?
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The cost of restoring a disturbed monument is generally borne by the party who disturbed it or the current owner who benefits, not by the original surveyor whose work was correct. The buyer's remedy is against the developer/contractor (trespass to the monument, and possibly the developer's warranty), though the developer is judgment-proof, which may leave the buyer to pay. You may contract with the buyer for the re-survey at your normal rate; you are not obligated to do it free absent a finding that your work was deficient. If your work was deficient, your E&O policy responds. Document your reasoning in a letter to the buyer's attorney that states the facts without conceding fault.