Pressure to Certify a Plat Without Disclosing an Encroachment
You are the surveyor of record for a 4.8-acre commercial parcel in Bernalillo County. Your ALTA/NSPS survey shows a new canopy over the fuel pumps encroaching 2.3 ft into a recorded 20-ft public utility easement and 1.1 ft into the neighboring parcel. The client’s lender is scheduled to close in 48 hours. The real estate broker calls and asks you to omit the encroachment from the plat because “it is a site-plan issue, not a boundary issue,” and to add the note “survey for informational purposes only” so the title company will not require an exception. The client offers to pay an additional $1,500 for the expedited revision. Your signed contract requires you to deliver a survey reflecting field conditions and to comply with the state board’s standards. You have already certified the original plat.
1. How should you respond to the request to omit the encroachments?
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I cannot omit the encroachments. The canopy’s 2.3-ft intrusion into a recorded utility easement and 1.1-ft intrusion into the neighbor’s parcel are material survey facts, not site-plan decoration. A surveyor may not certify a plat that is knowingly misleading. I would tell the broker and client that the plat will show the canopy, the easement, the neighbor’s line, and the dimensions, and that title/lender decisions are for others. I would not accept the $1,500 as consideration for deleting a material fact; a legitimate expedited revision fee is fine if the work is accurate.
2. Can the note “survey for informational purposes only” cure the omission?
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The note “survey for informational purposes only” does not cure a false or incomplete plat, especially if I sign and certify it. I can issue a separate, clearly labeled sketch that is not a boundary survey or certification, but it still must not misrepresent the encroachment. I would not change the certification to make the title company waive an exception. If the client wants a survey excluding title matters, that must be defined in the contract and cannot hide physical evidence. The original certified plat stands unless a corrected plat is issued for a legitimate reason.
3. What records and communications should you create?
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I would document the request in the project file, send a written response to the client and broker, and notify my insurer or legal counsel if there is a threat of claim. I would retain the field data, the original plat, and all correspondence under the state retention rules. If the lender or title company is relying on the plat, I would communicate the encroachments directly or authorize the client to release the corrected plat. The file should show that I refused to conceal the facts and that any revised plat was prepared accurately.