PS Professional Liability & Ethics 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the statute of limitations for professional liability claims against surveyors generally intended to protect?
- Only the surveyor's financial assets
- Both the public's right to seek redress and the surveyor's right to finality (Correct answer)
- Only the title insurance companies
- The state licensing board's investigative timeline
Correct answer: Both the public's right to seek redress and the surveyor's right to finality
Statutes of limitations balance the public's right to pursue legitimate claims with the surveyor's right to certainty that old work cannot be challenged indefinitely.
Question 2: A surveyor is hired by a developer but learns the project will destroy a protected wetland. Under professional ethics, the surveyor should:
- Proceed because the developer is the client
- Advise the client of regulatory requirements and potential violations (Correct answer)
- Report immediately to the EPA before telling the client
- Withdraw without any explanation to preserve confidentiality
Correct answer: Advise the client of regulatory requirements and potential violations
Surveyors must advise clients of applicable legal requirements and cannot knowingly assist in activities that violate environmental regulations.
Question 3: Which type of professional liability insurance covers claims made by a client after a project is completed?
- General liability insurance
- Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance (Correct answer)
- Workers' compensation insurance
- Surety bond coverage
Correct answer: Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance
Errors and omissions (E&O) insurance, also called professional liability insurance, covers claims arising from professional mistakes or oversights in completed work.
Question 4: A surveyor is approached by opposing parties in a boundary dispute and asked to testify as an expert for both sides. The ethical response is to:
- Accept both engagements and remain neutral
- Decline one engagement to avoid a conflict of interest (Correct answer)
- Charge double the normal rate and accept both
- Testify for whichever party pays first
Correct answer: Decline one engagement to avoid a conflict of interest
Serving as an expert witness for opposing parties in the same dispute creates an irreconcilable conflict of interest that must be avoided.
Question 5: Under the concept of 'duty of care,' a surveyor's obligation extends to:
- Only the party who signed the contract
- Foreseeable third parties who may rely on the survey (Correct answer)
- Only government agencies requesting the survey
- Adjoining landowners who pay a review fee
Correct answer: Foreseeable third parties who may rely on the survey
Courts have extended a surveyor's duty of care beyond the contracting client to foreseeable third parties who could reasonably rely on and be harmed by an erroneous survey.
Question 6: A surveyor who knowingly certifies a survey with incorrect boundary data to help a client obtain a permit is guilty of:
- A minor ethical violation only
- Professional fraud and misconduct (Correct answer)
- Negligent misrepresentation only
- A licensing technicality requiring remediation
Correct answer: Professional fraud and misconduct
Knowingly certifying false survey data constitutes professional fraud and misconduct, subject to criminal penalties and license revocation.
Question 7: A surveyor's 'standard of care' is typically measured against:
- The highest-performing surveyor in the nation
- What a reasonably competent surveyor in the same geographic area would do under similar circumstances (Correct answer)
- Strict engineering standards regardless of local practice
- What the client reasonably expected to receive
Correct answer: What a reasonably competent surveyor in the same geographic area would do under similar circumstances
The standard of care for surveyors is defined as what a reasonably competent practitioner in the same locality would do under comparable conditions.
PS Professional Liability & Ethics 3
What is the statute of limitations for professional liability claims against surveyors generally intended to protect?