Description

Parol Evidence IX – 1.5 Contact Hours
The case-in-chief is Campbell v. Carl, Alabama Supreme Court, 1981. Raeder Carl sold S. J. Smith 60 acres out of her 100-acre estate in 1949. Carl and Smith lived in peaceful co-existence for the next 26 years until Smith passed away. Smith died intestate and his widow, Minnie Smith Campbell, and his heirs in law (the Campbells) obtained ownership of the Smith estate. The Campbells hired a surveyor to survey the property so that they could know where the property lines were located. The legal description in the deed from Campbell to Smith was ambiguous with at least three possible interpretations as to the location of the common boundary between the Carl’s and Campbells’ respective properties. Of course the surveyor chose the option that ran the line through Carl’s new barn and litigation ensued. This case is about how parol evidence was used to solve the ambiguity in the deed. This is a 2-Page Letter covering 1 Court Opinion consisting of 5 pages. This 7-Page document has a 10-Question examination based on the text of the newsletter and the case-in-chief.

OBJECTIVES: To enhance professional competency and improve practitioner’s knowledge of the law as it relates to the practice of land surveying.