Description

Government Surveys II – 1.5 Contact Hours
The case-in-chief, Vaught v. McClymond, Montana Supreme Court, 1945, involves a private subdivision of Section 26, Township 4 South, Range 24 East, M.P.M. Carbon County, Montana. The government survey of the township was completed in 1890 and the plat was accepted and filed the next year in 1891. In 1914 and 1915, the NW1/4 and most of the SW1/4 of the section was patented to Vaught. In 1940 Vaught sold the NW1/4 to McClymond. Five months after purchasing the NW1/4 McClymond had the county surveyor survey his property. The county surveyor attempted to set the east-west subdivision line between the NW1/4 and SW1/4 of the section and in doing so moved the division line 310 feet south of where Vaught had recognized it since 1914. After Vaught protested the survey, the country surveyor made a second attempt to survey the line and ended up in approximately the same location as previously recognized by Vaught, creating a 310’ x 2,640’ overlapping strip. The parties went to court and on appeal the Montana Supreme Court laid down the law on GLO subdivision procedures, or did they? Read the letter and find out. This is a 2-Page Letter covering 1 Court Opinion consisting of 14 pages. This 16-Page document has a 10-Question examination based on the text of the newsletter, the case-in-chief and the Editor’s commentary.

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