Attn: Tracey, Re: Land Dispute

LOL Sorry! I ended my topic prematurely. Anyway, here is the first part: A man is claiming I have an encroachment on his empty lot. I have been told by two other neighbors that this man approached them asking questions about me. One time I was home and the other I was not. He did not have the courage to face me, nor did he leave a message on my door. He did, however, tell a neighbor "my business," which I did not at all appreciate, and gave his telephone number to her with a verbal message asking me to call him. I tried calling him several times, but my calls were unanswered and he did not have an answering machine. I came to face this man when pulling into my driveway my neighbor met me and told me this man was in her kitchen telling her "my business." His plat is dated 1-12-87. When I bought my house in 1992, a new land survey was conducted. I showed him my land survey, which shows no encroachment. He mumbled something about doing more research, gathered his papers, and left. He is pursuing this matter and sent me a registered letter informing me, "Previoulsy I presented you with a plat by a registered land surveyor that shows the encroachment as it currently exits." He has demanded that I remove the encroachment; if not he will take legal action and the expense will be charged against me. The plat, dated 1-12-87, this man presented me with was a faxed copy. He gave a copy to me and my neighbor, because he is claiming my neighbor also has an encroachment on his empty lot. My house was not built until 1988, but his plat has my (typed) name on it and it also shows my fence line. Whose plat/land survey will stand up in court? Will I have to conduct another land survey? If he is wrong, can my neighbor and I (together) file suit against him for legal fees? Can I file a countersuit against him for telling "my business" to my neighbors? Thanks in advance.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Tracey:
Well, 'land dispute' covers a lot of ground. What's the nature of the dispute? You should probably do both. Surveys have gotten a lot more accurate in the last 10-15 years.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ah, more becomes clear! The moe recent survey wins unless he can show that your survey was inaccurate & his was correct. If he can, the surveying firm has to pay the damages for their incompetance. He's the one claiming an encroachment, so he has to pay for the survey. Send him a xerox of the survey & record it on both property parcel numbers. Then send him a letter (certified, return receipt) that you'll sue him for malicious prosecution & request sanctions against him for your costs & legal fees if he files suit, since he now knows that his claim is groundless. This will require him to pay for another survey in order to satisfy the "reasonable investigation" requirements of civil rule 11. You can't sue him for talking unless he's saying things he knows or should know are false.

------------------
This is not legal advice and you are not my client. Double check everything with your own attorney and your state's laws. tmeek@uswest.net