O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30.2

Thu, 4 Jan 2024 15:59:13 GMT

Occasionally I request a plat from another surveyor and receive the response that due to liability concerns they cannot release the plat. That could be of concern for a recent survey. But a survey from 1994? So, I thought it appropriate to post the State Law concerning our liability for surveys in Georgia.

David

9-3-30.2. Actions against persons engaged in land surveying.

As used in this Code section, the term “land surveying” shall have the same meaning as provided by paragraph (6) of Code Section 43-15-2.
No action to recover damages for any deficiency, defect, omission, error, or miscalculation in a survey or plat shall be brought against registered surveyors or their employees engaged in the practice of land surveying who performed or furnished such survey or plat more than six years from the date of the survey or plat. The cause of action in such cases shall accrue when such services are rendered as shown from the date on the survey or plat. Any such action not instituted within the six-year period provided by this subsection shall be forever barred.

Mon, 8 Jan 2024 19:40:35 GMT

Some surveyors who do poor work attempt to cover it up by preventing their plats from being made public. In other words, if other surveyors and/or the general public catch on to the fact that they are consistently doing flimflam work, even though they may be protected from past misdeeds by the statute of limitations, it may lead to their coming under scrutiny for their more recent work. So, using alleged potential liability that has, under the statute of limitations, passed, as an excuse for not giving out plats is just a smoke screen.

Some surveyors have so little confidence in their determination of the locations of corners and lines that they try to hide the fact that they set given iron pins (or wooden stakes), or that they did not find or set corner makers designated on their plats at all. Therefore, they attempt to keep their plats from being made public so as to avoid being accused of mislocating corners or of not finding or setting corners as indicated on their plats.

I have known of incompetent licensed surveyors going to great lengths to keep their "plats" off the public records. For example, they omit their seal and the bearings. The idea was that the clerk of superior court will not record "plats" that do not have a seal (though many clerks do it anyway); and, without bearings, the "plats" cannot be used to draw up legal descriptions for deeds, and that further reduces the chance of them being recorded.

Sometimes the person who had the survey made does not want the plat to be given out. For example, suppose someone is thinking about buying a piece of land, they have the land surveyed, pay the surveyor, and then decide not to buy the land. The person may not want copies of the plat to be given to others unless they pay him or her for the survey.

Here is a scenario remotely similar that occurred several years ago that I was involved with: A real estate developer had a surveyor to survey some land. Shortly afterward, the surveyor retired and sold all of his records to another surveyor. The real estate developer had given out all the copies of the plat he had received from the first surveyor, and needed additional copies. Finding that the second surveyor had the original plat, the developer requested copies from the second surveyor. The second surveyor informed him that he had paid a considerable sum for the records and the fee for providing copies would be $600--ironic given the fact that the realtor had paid in full for the survey. I don't know what the end result was.

Have you checked to see if the plat you are looking for is recorded in the courthouse? If an attorney has done a closing on the property, he probably has a copy of the plat in his files and you can check that. If there is an outstanding security deed on the property, the bank may have a copy of the plat, though it may be reluctant to give copies to just anyone.