Higley v. McDonald

685 P.2d 496, 1984 Utah LEXIS 826
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedApril 27, 1984
Docket18755
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 685 P.2d 496 (Higley v. McDonald) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Higley v. McDonald, 685 P.2d 496, 1984 Utah LEXIS 826 (Utah 1984).

Opinion

HALL, Chief Justice.

Plaintiffs brought this action in ejectment to secure the removal of defendants’ mobile home and other personal property from real property allegedly owned by plaintiffs. The district court, sitting without a jury, entered judgment of no cause of action against plaintiffs. We affirm.

In 1951, Arthur Bolotas (hereinafter “Bo-lotas”) purchased a tract of mountain land located along the eastern shoreline of Sco-field Reservoir in Carbon County, Utah. In terms of its legal description, the property is situated within the southeast quarter of Section 4, Township 12 South, Range 7 East, Salt Lake Base & Meridian.

In 1960, Bolotas hired John Bene (hereinafter “Bene”), a licensed surveyor, to survey and plat out a portion of the shoreline property for development as a mountain home subdivision. Bene surveyed the land into lots and blocks and set survey markers (drill steel) at the corners of the lots. He tied his survey to a point established by him as the northeast corner of the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 4. This point was determined by locating the survey markers representing the northeast corner and the east quarter corner of Section 4 and then, through the use of survey equipment, by extending an imaginary line through those two points and to the south thereof a distance of 1,320 feet (standard 40-acre distance). A steel pin was placed at this point by Bene as a survey marker.

Bene testified, in respect to the northeast corner and east quarter corner reference points, that he found the former point marked, as most sectional corners typically are, by an authentic brass cap placed by government surveyors, while the latter point was marked by a ¾-inch bent steel rod, which was shown to him by an adjoining landowner, Justice Seeley. This latter point has been denominated the “Seeley Corner.”

*497 After completing his survey of the Bolo-tas property, Bene prepared a subdivision plat (hereinafter “Bolotas Plat”) from the data obtained in the survey. Bolotas postponed recording the plat until the remaining portion of his property could be surveyed and included in the plat. However, the remainder of the property was never surveyed and subdivided, and thus the plat was never recorded.

In 1969, plaintiffs Gerald and Ruth Hig-ley and defendants Cardón and Dollie McDonald (hereinafter referred to in the singular as plaintiff and defendant) purchased two adjoining lots in the Bolotas Subdivision. The lot purchased by plaintiff was designated on the Bolotas Plat as Lot 26 Block 1 and was situated to the south of defendant’s lot, which was designated as Lot 27 Block 1.

At the time the parties negotiated the purchase of their respective lots, the only descriptions they had of the lots were the “lot and block” descriptions indicated on the Bolotas Plat. Aside from that, the parties could see the physical monuments at the corners of the lots (set previously by Bene) and could determine therefrom the sizes and locations of the lots. There appears to be no inconsistency between the lot dimensions and locations as depicted on the Bolotas Plat and as represented by the physical monuments.

The deeds to Lots 26 and 27 were prepared by attorney Luke Pappas (hereinafter “Pappas”). Inasmuch as the Bolotas Plat was not of record at the time the deeds were prepared, Pappas described the subject lots by metes and bounds descriptions. However, in anticipation that the plat would be recorded in the future and to facilitate future references to specific lots in the subdivision, Pappas included with the metes and bounds descriptions the lot and block numbers as set forth on the plat.

Pappas testified that the metes and bounds descriptions contained in plaintiffs and defendant’s deeds were calculated from the dimensions on the Bolotas Plat. Notwithstanding, he also testified that the metes and bounds descriptions were at variance with the lot and block dimensions on the Bolotas Plat in that the former represented the location of the lots to be 40 feet farther to the north than the latter. This discrepancy, according to Pappas, resulted from the circumstances described hereafter: Following a conveyance from Bolotas to one Jouflas of four lots located in the same block (Block 1) as, and just south of, Lots 26 and 27, Bolotas informed Pappas that he (Bolotas) had measured (apparently onsite) a section of Block 1 and had found that approximately 40 feet more land existed in that block than was included in the plat dimensions. Based on this measurement, Pappas drew up a description extending the northern boundary of Block 1 an additional 40 feet. He subsequently used that description as a reference in preparing the metes and bounds descriptions on plaintiff’s and defendant’s deeds. Sometime thereafter, Pappas made an on-site measurement himself and discovered that the additional 40 feet did not exist and that the actual dimensions of Block 1 and the lots included therein were precisely as they are recorded on the Bolotas Plat. He therefore concluded that the metes and bounds descriptions in plaintiff’s and defendant’s deeds, containing the additional 40 feet of land, were in error. Unfortunately, this error was never corrected, or even revealed, prior to the institution of this lawsuit.

In 1970, plaintiff Gerald Higley, with the assistance of defendant Cardón McDonald, surveyed the north-south boundary line between their respective properties and set stakes along that line in preparation of moving their mobile homes onto their lots. Shortly thereafter, the parties moved their mobile homes onto their lots, positioning them within the staked areas.

In 1971, plaintiff informed defendant that defendant’s mobile home was encroaching onto plaintiff’s lot due to an error they had made in their 1970 survey. Defendant responded by contacting Bene and requesting his services in settling the dispute. In 1972, Bene surveyed the boundary between the two lots, using as *498 reference points the drill steel survey markers he had set at the corners of the lots in his original 1960 survey, and determined that defendant’s mobile home was overlapping the boundary line and encroaching 10 to 12 feet onto plaintiff’s lot. Thereafter (during that same year), defendant moved his mobile home a distance of 10 to 15 feet to the north. Plaintiff witnessed the moving of the trailer and expressly conceded to the adequacy thereof.

After defendant’s mobile home had been relocated, Bene again made an on-site inspection and survey of defendant’s lot and determined therefrom that defendant’s mobile home was no longer encroaching on plaintiff's lot and that said mobile home was positioned entirely within the bounds of defendant’s lot, as that lot was established by Bene in his original (1960) survey and as it appears on the Bolotas Plat.

Since the 1972 reestablishment of the boundary line between Lots 26 and 27, the parties have planted trees along that line, and the power company has placed a utility pole on the same.

In 1977, plaintiff once again informed defendant that his (defendant’s) mobile home was encroaching on plaintiff’s property. Plaintiff’s claim was purportedly based upon a survey performed by a Mr. Spensko in 1974 or 1975. Defendant rejected this claim and refused to move his mobile home again. This action ensued.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
685 P.2d 496, 1984 Utah LEXIS 826, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/higley-v-mcdonald-utah-1984.