Deed Ambiguity: Conflicting Calls in a Metes-and-Bounds Parcel
A deed conveys a parcel described as: 'Beginning at a 2-inch iron pipe on the north right-of-way line of County Road; thence North 0°00'00" East, 400.00 feet to a point; thence North 90°00'00" East, 300.00 feet to a point; thence South 0°00'00" East, 400.00 feet to the north right-of-way line of County Road; thence along said right-of-way line to the point of beginning, containing 2.75 acres, more or less.'
Your field work finds the 2-inch iron pipe at the point of beginning, but the north line computed from the deed measures 300.00 feet while the south line along the road measures 312.40 feet because the road bears North 88°30'00" East, not due east. The area per the deed calls computes to 2.76 acres, but the actual road frontage yields 2.87 acres. The grantor's son tells you his father always said the east line was 'about 310 feet' and that a fence runs along a line consistent with 312 feet.
1. Identify the conflicting calls and rank them under the rules of construction you would apply.
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The description contains conflicting elements:
- Monument: the 2-inch iron pipe at the POB (and, arguably, the road right-of-way line as a monument).
- Course/distance calls: N 0° E 400.00 ft; N 90° E 300.00 ft; S 0° E 400.00 ft; then 'along said right-of-way line.'
- Quantity: 2.75 acres, more or less.
The standard hierarchy of calls, from strongest to weakest, is: natural monuments; artificial monuments; courses; distances; quantity/area. The road right-of-way line is a monument, and the call 'along said right-of-way line' controls the direction of the south line over the implied due-east closure. The 2-inch iron pipe at the POB is an artificial monument and controls that position.
Thus the north line distance of 300.00 ft is a distance call and yields to the monument call along the road. The east line should be positioned so the parcel closes on the road line, making the south line the road frontage (312.40 ft) and the east line parallel to the west line at 400.00 ft. The '2.75 acres, more or less' is the weakest call and cannot control over monuments, courses, and distances; the 'more or less' expressly signals that area is approximate. The fence and the grantor's recollection are parol evidence of intent and may be considered only where the written description is ambiguous-here the monument call resolves the ambiguity, so they are corroborative at best.
2. What do you report as the parcel's dimensions and area, and how do you handle the 12.4-foot discrepancy?
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The controlling geometry is set by the POB pipe and the road right-of-way line. The west line runs N 0° E 400.00 ft from the pipe. The south line follows the road, bearing N 88°30'00" E for 312.40 ft (the actual frontage), since the call 'along said right-of-way line' is a monument call. The east line then runs N 0° E (parallel to the west line) 400.00 ft, and the north line closes back to the POB.
This produces a slightly non-rectangular figure: the north line is not exactly 300.00 ft but whatever closes the figure-approximately 312.4 ft if the east line is parallel to the west line, or 300.0 ft if the north line is held to its distance call, in which case the east line must bear slightly to close. The defensible resolution is to hold the monument (road line), hold the west line as called, and let the north and east lines close, reporting the resulting distances and a computed area near 2.87 acres.
Report the discrepancy explicitly: state that the deed's 300.00-ft north line and 2.75-acre quantity conflict with the monument call along the road, that the monument controls, and that the resulting parcel is approximately 2.87 acres. Do not silently 'correct' the deed; disclose the conflict and your resolution so the client and any reviewing surveyor can evaluate it. If the parties dispute the boundary, recommend a boundary line agreement or judicial determination rather than unilateral action.