130 So. 2d 300 | Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 1961
This appeal is from a final judgment which determined a boundary dispute between appellant who was plaintiff below and appellee who was defendant. The action was in essence one for declaratory judgment and by stipulation was tried before the court without a jury. It was stipulated in the trial court that no question as to the form of the action would be raised. It was further stipulated that each party had title according to certain deeds and records. The controversy is as to where the property of one ends and the property of the other begins. Expert witnesses, who were surveyors, testified for each party and the surveyors differ both as to the location of the line and as to the method to be followed in locating the line. Final judgment was entered for the defendant, establishing the mutual boundary to be that shown by a survey made at defendant’s request, dated April, 1958, and marked as an exhibit in the
In cases deciding the boundary between two parcels of land, the law is settled that it is the duty of the surveyors to follow the original survey lines under which the property and neighboring properties are held notwithstanding inaccuracies or mistakes in the original survey. The purpose of this rule of law is that stability of boundary lines is more important than minor inaccuracies or mistakes. This rule was firmly established in Florida by Akin v. Godwin, Fla.1950, 49 So.2d 604. See also Wildeboer v. Hack, Fla.App.1957, 97 So.2d 29 and Bishop v. Johnson, Fla. App.1958, 100 So.2d 817, 820.
Acting upon the theory that neither party should have a numerical advantage in witnesses the plaintiff and defendant each produced the expert testimony of two surveyors. These surveyors agreed that in order to establish the boundary line in question it was necessary to begin at the southwest corner of Section 19, Township 57 South, Range 39 East, the same being on the center line of the Florida City canal. All agreed that there is only one recorded plat covering plaintiff’s and defendant’s property. This plat is designated as Miami Land and Development Company Subdivision of Section 19, Township 57 South, Range 39 East, and is recorded in plat book 5, at page 10 of the Public Records of Dade County, Florida. The difficulty in this case springs from the fact that this plat does not give sufficient measurements for the location of any line other than the section line. The recorded drawing is a schematic division of the section covered into theoretically equal ten-acre tracts, without regard to the actual measurements of the section. The discrepancy between the locations made by surveyors appears to arise from the north 50-foot width of the Florida City canal. This canal, as mentioned, has as its center line the south section line of Section 19. The right-of-way of the canal extends 50 feet north of this center line. The engineers agree that it is impossible to determine from the Miami Land and Development Company plat whether the 50 feet north of the center line of the canal is to be deducted from the lot adjacent to the canal or whether this 50 feet is prorated among all the lots in the southwest quarter of Section 19. Defendant’s experts and the survey adopted by the court as that setting out the valid boundary line between plaintiff’s and defendant’s properties, prorated the 50-foot width of the Florida City canal right-of-way north of the section line among all the lots in the southwest quarter of Section 19. In each instance the surveyor was unable to point to any authority for this proration but stated that he had taken this course because he felt that it was the fair thing to do.
As may be supposed, plaintiff’s experts declined to prorate the 50-foot width of the Florida City canal as defendant’s experts had done. They have deducted said 50 feet entirely from the adjacent lot. These experts have, however, followed substantial authority in so doing.
The testimony of plaintiff’s witnesses established the existence of an unrecorded plat, prepared by the Biscayne Engineering Company, in October of 1913. This plat was of Section 19, Township 57 South, Range 39 East, and covers the property in question. The testimony establishes without contradiction that this plat has been used by substantially all of the surveys made in the quarter section with which we are here concerned. There were introduced into evidence four recorded plats of portions of lot 9. Each plat followed the lines established by the unrecorded plat just described; None of these four plats
It is therefore necessary, upon authority of the law as set forth in Akin v. God-win, supra, and authorities cited therein, to reverse the judgment entered in this cause and remand the cause for the entry of a judgment not inconsistent with the views herein expressed.
Reversed and remanded.
