RPLS Legal Principles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the doctrine of acquiescence, neighboring landowners may establish a binding boundary line by:
- Filing a joint deed with the county recorder
- Mutually recognizing and treating a line as the boundary for the statutory period (Correct answer)
- Obtaining a court order confirming the line
- Having a licensed surveyor monument the agreed line
Correct answer: Mutually recognizing and treating a line as the boundary for the statutory period
Acquiescence occurs when adjoining owners mutually recognize and treat a line as their common boundary for the period required by state statute.
Question 2: A 'call for a natural monument' in a deed description typically takes priority over which of the following?
- An adjoining deed call
- A course and distance call (Correct answer)
- A government corner call
- A senior rights call
Correct answer: A course and distance call
In the hierarchy of conflicting calls, monuments (especially natural ones) generally control over courses and distances.
Question 3: The legal concept of 'privity of contract' in boundary disputes means that:
- Both parties must sign the survey plat
- An agreement is enforceable only between the original contracting parties and their successors in interest (Correct answer)
- The surveyor must notify all adjoining owners of the survey
- A deed must be recorded to be valid against third parties
Correct answer: An agreement is enforceable only between the original contracting parties and their successors in interest
Privity limits contractual obligations to parties in a direct contractual relationship or those who have succeeded to their interests.
Question 4: When a deed conveys land 'to the center of the road,' the grantor is presumed to convey:
- Only to the edge of the road right-of-way
- Title to the centerline of the road subject to the public easement (Correct answer)
- Fee simple title free of any road rights
- Only an easement appurtenant to the road
Correct answer: Title to the centerline of the road subject to the public easement
The common law presumption is that a conveyance to a road boundary carries title to its centerline, encumbered by the public right-of-way.
Question 5: A 'gap' in the public land survey system refers to:
- An area of unsurveyed public land
- An unintentional space between two adjoining parcels not conveyed to either (Correct answer)
- A closing error in a traverse calculation
- Land reserved by the federal government
Correct answer: An unintentional space between two adjoining parcels not conveyed to either
A gap is an area of land left between two conveyances that was not included in either deed, creating a parcel with no recorded owner.
Question 6: Under the PLSS, 'fractional sections' are created primarily due to:
- Errors in the original survey field notes
- The convergence of meridians and the presence of bodies of water or reservation boundaries (Correct answer)
- Subdivisions by private landowners
- Correction lines exceeding allowable tolerances
Correct answer: The convergence of meridians and the presence of bodies of water or reservation boundaries
Fractional sections result from the mathematical adjustments needed for meridian convergence and from meandering boundaries such as rivers or lakes.
Question 7: An easement by necessity is most commonly created when:
- A landowner grants a road easement for public use
- A parcel is landlocked as a result of a conveyance severing access to a public road (Correct answer)
- Two parties execute a formal easement agreement
- A prescriptive period has been satisfied by open use
Correct answer: A parcel is landlocked as a result of a conveyance severing access to a public road
Courts imply an easement by necessity when a conveyance leaves a parcel without reasonable access to a public road, arising from the common grantor's implied intent.
RPLS Legal Principles 2
Under the doctrine of acquiescence, neighboring landowners may establish a binding boundary line by: