This case was not a right-of-way issue. It was purely a boundary dispute between two neighbors within an island recreational subdivision. Each party had a surveyor with a differing opinion as to the location of the boundary between the two 1/3 acre lots. This appeared to be one of those "money is no object" situations where an amicable resolution was just not in the cards. The boundary in question was about 150-feet in length and depending on the opinion, may have resulted in the encroachment of corners of two sheds by 1.1 and 1.7 feet respectively. Initially I was hired to provide an independent review for both parties. The issue involved a 1927 GLO survey of Colt Island in which the only monument established for the US Survey was a Witness Corner to a Meander Corner chiseled into rock. My opinion was that the Hall's surveyor, who was also the original surveyor for the paper platted subdivision, did not commence his survey from the original WCMC as the plat indicates. Collins' surveyor located the original WCMC and staked the lot boundary with respect to it which led to the conflict in the boundary location between the parties. In part as a result of my review opinion, the parties continued to trial in Superior Court. At that point I was hired as the expert witness for the Collins.
Collins v. Hall was one of two cases I discussed in my 2020
project/paper "No
Boundaries". I had intended to present that paper at the 2020
Alaska Surveying & Mapping Conference until it was cancelled due
to the pandemic. While "No Boundaries" is focused on the review
of the legal issues, this project goes into the detail of my expert
report and the resources I used in preparing it.
| Date | Documents |
|---|---|
|
12/17/15 |
Collins v. Hall Colt Island Report - Boundary Conflict Assessment (2mb) |
|
1/21/16 |
Collins v. Hall Deposition Review - Review of Plaintiff's Surveyor Deposition |
|
6/25/12 |
email from Collins to ASPLS WebMaster - Contact prior to law suit |
| Court - Quasi/Judicial Role | |
|
8/29/14 |
Lee v. Konrad - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
varies |
|
|
1/1881 |
The Judicial Functions of Surveyors - Justice Thomas Cooley, Michigan Supreme Court |
|
1968 |
The Importance of a LandSurvey - Tillotson |
| Court - Superior | |
|
7/6/17 |
Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law - Case No. 1JU-14-00771 CI (2mb) |
|
7/29/14 |
Complaint - Collins v. Hall (3mb) |
|
8/26/14 |
Answer & Counterclaim - Collins v. Hall |
|
2015 |
Randal Davis, PLS Review - Colt Island Boundary (3mb) |
|
11/18/16 |
Defendant's Pretrial Brief - Collins v. Hall (3mb) |
|
12/14/15 |
Exhibit 31 - John Bean - Lot 14 survey |
|
12/14/15 |
Exhibit 32 - John Bean - USS 1755 Field Notes |
|
12/14/15 |
Exhibit 33 - John Bean - Monument Record |
|
12/14/15 |
John Bean Deposition - Volume II |
|
4/22/15 |
John Bean Deposition - Collins v. Hall |
|
4/25/16 |
Plaintiff's Objection to Defendant's Expert Witness - J.F. Bennett |
|
??? |
Pages from Plaintiffs' Initial Disclosures - Collins v. Hall |
|
11/18/16 |
Plaintiffs Trial Brief - Collins v. Hall (4mb) |
|
5/6/16 |
Plaintiffs' Reply Regarding Bennett Expert Witness - Collins v. Hall |
|
4/28/16 |
Defendants' Response to expert witness objections - Collins v. Hall |
| Court - Supreme | |
|
9/27/19 |
Collins v. Hall - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
3/27/18 |
Appellant's Reply Brief Hall - Collins v. Hall |
|
12/21/16 |
Appellees' Brief - Collins v. Hall (5mb) |
|
7/14/17 |
Opening Brief of Appellant - Collins v. Hall (7mb) |
|
N/A |
Supreme Ct S16795 Collins v Hall - Case Log |
| Research | |
|
N/A |
AS 9.45.020 Boundary Establishment - Alaska Statutes |
|
4/2010 |
|
|
8/2003 |
Boundary Law Issues in Washington - Hart - Washington State |
|
??? |
Boundary Line Disputes - John A. Scott Article |
|
8/2007 |
Law of Easements - Kenneth W. Hart |
|
varies |
Misc Scans & Notes Part1 - JFB (5mb) |
|
varies |
Misc Scans & Notes Part2 - JFB (5mb) |
|
varies |
|
|
??? |
Possession & Boundaries - Knud Hermansen |
|
1960 |
Replacement and Apportionment as Surveying Methods - Griffin, Marquette Law Review |
|
10/2007 |
Texas Estoppel, Agreement & Acquiescence - Fambrough - Who's Line is It Anyway? |
|
2/2014 |
The Retracement Surveyor - Applying the Decisions of Courts to the Practice of Land Surveying |
|
4/8/11 |
Utah Supreme Court - Legal Doctrines Establishing Boundary Lines |
| Research - Case Law | |
|
5/27/11 |
Cowan v. Yeisley - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
5/25/61 |
Froscher v. Fuchs - Florida District Court of Appeal |
|
10/7/92 |
Mcghee v. Young - Florida District Court of Appeal |
|
11/16/26 |
Morris v. Jody - Kentucky Court of Appeals |
|
6/24/83 |
Proctor v. Hinkley - Supreme Court of Maine |
|
7/19/13 |
Tillman v. Bennett - Florida District Court of Appeal |
|
5/12/83 |
Tyson v. Edwards - Florida District Court of Appeal |
| Research - Case Law - Colt Island Cases | |
|
2/2/94 |
Lockwood v. Black - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
3/28/14 |
Shumway v. Betty Black - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
2/9/94 |
W.A.W. Inc v. Black - Alaska Supreme Court |
| Research - Case Law - Common Grantor | |
|
7/28/06 |
Huffman v. Peterson - Supreme Court of Nebraska |
|
8/31/15 |
Pendergrast v. Matichuk - Washington State Court of Appeals |
|
7/7/15 |
Riley v. Valaer - Washington State Court of Appeals |
| Research - Case Law - Google Scholar | |
|
2009 |
Estate of Smith v. Spinelli - Alaska Supreme Court - Citations |
|
1991 |
Norken Corp. v. McGahan - Alaska Supreme Court - Citations |
|
??? |
Tyson v. Edwards - Florida District Court of Appeals |
| Research - Case Law - Lee v Konrad | |
|
1/1/10 |
Lee v. Konrad - Decision - Superior COurt |
|
10/10/13 |
|
|
10/16/13 |
|
|
1972 |
|
|
1979 |
Shelikof Subdivision Plat - error correction |
|
2001 |
|
|
9/25/14 |
Alaska Bar Assn. Lee v. Konrad - Summary |
|
??? |
Alaska Law Review Lee v. Konrad - Summary |
|
7/28/88 |
Hansen v. Stewart - Supreme Court of Utah |
|
2013 |
How to Fix a Boundary Line - Tarheel Surveyor |
|
6/20/11 |
Lee & v. Konrad - Alaska Superior Court |
|
7/24/81 |
Mount v. Curran I - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
12/30/82 |
Mount v. Curran II - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
1984 |
Objective Uncertainty in Boundary by Acquiescence - BYU Law Review |
|
8/29/14 |
Lee v. Konrad - Alaska Supreme Court |
|
1986 |
The Law of Practical Location of Boundaries - BYU Law Review |
|
10/28/15 |
Traversing The Law -The Surveyor's Duties - Jeffery Lucas |
| Research - Monument Control | |
|
2013 |
|
|
??? |
Chapter 12 Original Monuments Within a Subdivision - Arizona Manual (3mb) |
|
5/2008 |
Plat or Monument? - Bockman |
|
1984 |
The Rule of Monument Control in Washington - Jerry Broadus (2mb) |
|
1995 |
Uncalled for monuments - David Knowles |
|
3/4/15 |
When a Monument is Not a Monument - Kristopher Kline |
| Research - Plats | |
|
3/12/04 |
|
|
9/30/15 |
|
|
12/7/12 |
|
|
10/8/14 |
|
|
8/5/15 |
|
|
9/30/15 |
|
|
8/26/20 |
|
|
7/16/75 |
|
|
11/9/89 |
|
|
7/17/22 |
USS 1285 - USLM 1285 |
|
10/17/28 |
USS 1755 - Colt Island |
| Research - Title - BLM | |
|
7/10/31 |
Patent 1047938 - USS 1755 Colt Island |
|
10/9/15 |
USS 1755 Abstract - BLM Online |
| Research - Title - Lot 14 Area 1 | |
|
6/18/12 |
Personal Representative's Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
2/13/13 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
1/25/77 |
|
| 2/14/77 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
2/14/77 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
6/10/83 |
Quit Claim Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
12/11/87 |
|
|
6/1/98 |
Quit Claim Deed - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
5/4/93 |
Partnership Agreement - Lot 14 Colt Island |
|
N/A |
|
| Research - Title - Lot 15 Area 1 | |
|
3/14/05 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 15 Colt Island |
|
1/25/77 |
|
|
9/29/78 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 15 Colt Island |
|
9/29/78 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 15 Colt Island |
|
12/11/87 |
|
|
7/18/94 |
Warranty Deed - Lot 15 Colt Island |
|
N/A |
|
| Research - Treatises | |
|
??? |
Pages from Boundary Control and Legal Principles 7th - Uncalled for Monuments |
|
??? |
Boundary Control and Legal Principles 7th - Chapter 12 Simultaneous Boundaries |