Stone Wall, Iron Pipe, and a Forty-Year Fence
A 12.4-acre parcel in a Berkshire County town is described in a 1957 deed as beginning at a stone wall corner at the northeasterly corner of the tract, thence N 42°15′ E 640.00 ft to an iron pin, thence southerly along a stone wall. The deed calls the stone wall as the boundary for the first 300 ft. Your field work finds the stone wall corner, a 1-inch iron pipe set 3.2 ft west of the position computed from the deed distance, and a 1938 recorded plan that shows a granite bound at the wall corner but no pipe. The abutting deed, from 1902, calls the same stone wall corner. A wire fence runs roughly parallel to the deed line, about 8 ft east of the line from wall to pipe, and has been maintained by the client's family since 1968; the client wants the plan to show the fence as the boundary. The client also asks whether the pipe can be used as the corner because it is easier to set up on.
1. Which evidence should control the location of the first course, and how should you treat the iron pipe and the fence?
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Begin with the hierarchy of boundary evidence. The 1957 deed calls a stone wall corner and a stone wall boundary; the 1902 abutting deed calls the same wall; the 1938 plan shows a granite bound at that corner. These are mutually corroborating calls to an original or ancient monument, so the wall corner controls over the deed distance. The pipe needs testing before it is accepted. It is a 1-inch iron pipe, but it is not shown on the 1938 plan and it is 3.2 ft off the computed distance. If field evidence shows it was set at the 1957 conveyance as the called-for iron pin, it is a monument and may control the end of the course, with the measured distance being 636.8 ft rather than 640.00 ft. If it appears to be a later surveyor's pin or a witness, it does not displace the wall corner and the deed distance. Do not use it merely because it is convenient. The fence is not a deed monument; it is a line of occupation. A fence maintained since 1968 may support a claim of adverse possession or practical location, but that is a legal conclusion. Show the fence, measure the strip, and note the claim; do not label it as the boundary without a deed or court determination.
2. What should appear on the plan and in the notes?
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Show the deed line as the record boundary, the stone wall corner, the iron pipe, the 1938 granite bound if found, and the fence. Label each feature by its nature and source. Show both the measured distance from the wall corner to the pipe and the deed distance; do not silently force the pipe to the deed distance. Show the area to the deed line and, separately, the area to the fence if the client wants to pursue a claim; label the latter as an occupation line and a claim of adverse possession or practical location, not as a determined boundary. Add a legend stating that the plan is not a title opinion and that the boundary shown is based on deed and field evidence. If the client insists on the fence as the boundary, explain that a surveyor can locate evidence but cannot adjudicate title; a court determination or a deed from the abutter is needed. Retain field notes and the 1938 plan reference.
3. The client instructs you to omit the pipe and fence because they 'confuse the title.' How do you respond?
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Refuse. A survey plan is a professional representation of evidence; omitting known monuments or occupation lines is misleading even if the client owns the land. The pipe and fence are material to the boundary and to any later dispute. Explain that omission could expose the client and you to liability and could be used to impeach the plan. Offer alternatives: show them with clear notes; prepare a separate exhibit for the adverse possession claim; refer the client to counsel. If the client insists on a false plan, decline the engagement or withdraw, and document the instruction. Check the Board's standards and the plan certification language. The goal is a plan that is complete and truthful, not one that makes title look simple.