LSIT Legal and Ethical Issues 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A surveyor signs and seals a survey that was actually performed entirely by an unlicensed employee without adequate supervision. This practice is commonly referred to as:
- Delegation of authority
- Responsible charge
- Signing and sealing fraud or 'plan stamping' (Correct answer)
- Professional mentorship
Correct answer: Signing and sealing fraud or 'plan stamping'
Signing and sealing work one did not perform or adequately supervise is called 'plan stamping' and constitutes professional misconduct subject to license revocation.
Question 2: Under the doctrine of 'senior rights' in boundary retracement, which original boundary element generally takes highest priority?
- Calculated distances
- Record bearings from the deed
- Original monuments set by the original surveyor (Correct answer)
- Area stated in the deed
Correct answer: Original monuments set by the original surveyor
Original monuments set by the original surveyor are given the highest evidentiary weight in boundary retracement because they represent the original intent on the ground.
Question 3: A client asks a surveyor to backdate a survey certificate to avoid a permit deadline. What should the surveyor do?
- Comply if the survey work was essentially complete by that date
- Refuse, as backdating constitutes fraud and professional misconduct (Correct answer)
- Alter only the certificate date and leave the plat date unchanged
- Check with a lawyer before deciding
Correct answer: Refuse, as backdating constitutes fraud and professional misconduct
Backdating documents is fraudulent misrepresentation and violates professional ethics codes and potentially criminal statutes, regardless of circumstances.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of a surveyor's 'errors and omissions' (E&O) professional liability insurance?
- To cover intentional fraud committed by the surveyor
- To protect the surveyor and clients from financial loss due to professional mistakes (Correct answer)
- To replace the need for a professional license
- To cover physical injury claims on survey sites
Correct answer: To protect the surveyor and clients from financial loss due to professional mistakes
E&O insurance protects both the surveyor and harmed parties from financial loss resulting from professional errors or omissions in survey work.
Question 5: Under the Public Land Survey System (PLSS), who holds legal authority to establish section corners that are lost and cannot be restored by evidence?
- Any licensed surveyor working in that county
- The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under federal law (Correct answer)
- The county assessor's office
- The original homesteader's successors
Correct answer: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under federal law
Under 43 U.S.C. § 772, only the BLM (or its predecessor GLO) has legal authority to officially re-establish lost PLSS corners through dependent resurveys.
Question 6: A surveyor is offered a referral fee by a title company for each client he sends their way. What ethical principle is most directly implicated?
- Confidentiality of client data
- Independence and avoidance of conflicts of interest (Correct answer)
- Duty to maintain technical competence
- Prohibition on advertising
Correct answer: Independence and avoidance of conflicts of interest
Accepting referral fees can compromise a surveyor's objectivity and independence, creating a conflict of interest that must be disclosed or avoided.
Question 7: Which legal concept allows a property owner to claim ownership of land that has gradually and imperceptibly been added to their parcel by natural water deposit?
- Avulsion
- Erosion
- Accretion (Correct answer)
- Reliction
Correct answer: Accretion
Accretion is the gradual and imperceptible accumulation of land through natural processes (typically water-borne sediment deposit), and the new land belongs to the riparian owner.
LSIT Legal and Ethical Issues 3
A surveyor signs and seals a survey that was actually performed entirely by an unlicensed employee without adequate supervision.
This practice is commonly referred to as: