Challenging land surveying through court: reasons for invalidating the results

Determining property boundaries is a critical process that requires land surveying, but what happens if the findings are contested? There may be disagreements amongst neighbors, developers, and property owners regarding the fairness or accuracy of a survey. These disputes frequently wind up in court when they can’t be settled through negotiation or mediation.

In court, contesting a land survey can be a difficult and intimidating undertaking. It necessitates a deep comprehension of the legal grounds for survey invalidation. This article offers advice for anyone thinking about bringing a challenge against land survey results by examining the typical grounds that courts may find them invalid.

Problems with land surveys can originate from a number of things, such as measurement mistakes, inaccurate or out-of-date data, and even possible surveyor bias or misconduct. Anyone wishing to contest a survey’s results must be aware of these potential traps.

Furthermore, a flawed land survey can have serious repercussions that impact neighborly relations, development plans, and property values. This article seeks to equip property owners with the information necessary to resolve these disputes by illuminating the grounds for invalidating land survey results.

When errors or disagreements about property boundaries occur, it may be necessary to challenge land surveying results in court. Measurement errors, surveyor bias or misconduct, out-of-date or conflicting property records, and differences between the survey and actual land use are common causes of invalidating these results. Property owners can better defend their rights and guarantee accurate land representation by being aware of these factors.

Documents that are the results of the procedure

The boundary plan is the primary document that the cadastral engineer creates when determining the boundaries of a land plot. This process results in a boundary file.

This plan, which is divided into text and graphic sections, shows a map of the site’s location with turning point coordinates and boundaries (lines drawn between them) that define the property’s boundaries.

The text section includes a description of the land plot, outlining its key attributes that are crucial for calculating the cadastral value, as well as information on the potential for building or other structures, growing crops for planting, and other activities that might occur while the site is in use.

The plot owner can apply to register the plot, get a cadastral passport, ownership rights, and conduct any civil law transactions that are not prohibited by law based on the boundary plan that has been drawn up.

Reasons for invalidating results

The law establishes the circumstances in which the plot owner, or any other individual or group whose rights were impacted by the land survey, may depend on the admissibility of a challenge to the boundary-setting results.

Thus, the following are examples of such conditions:

• Carrying out land surveying without a boundary approval act signed by all interested parties. No signatures is allowed only if such persons fail to appear after the owner of the site has complied with the required notification procedure and there are no written statements from neighbors about disagreement with the boundaries passing in this way;
• Allowance of violations during the execution of work by an engineer. This may be the absence of an operation to go to the site to draw out boundaries in nature, ignoring documentary data on the basis of which the boundary will be drawn in a different way, etc.d.;
• Emergence of new documentary evidence or testimony, which change the course of the laid boundary;
• Detecting an error in the provided data. This may be the intersection of the boundaries of adjacent plots, the imposition of one plot on another, the assignment of land to a completely different territory, any other inaccuracies that will occur in the graphic or text part;
• Acquisition of land and transfer of its ownership as a result of squatting of the territory. Such situations occur quite rarely, but can still occur as a result of an inaccurate analysis of the provided documentation by a cadastral engineer or the submission of inaccurate data by the customer.

How to cancel results through court

The following actions can be taken to reverse the findings of a land survey:

• Contact the engineer who drew up the existing land survey plan and determined the coordinates of the passing boundaries of the plot;
• Collection of documents that may indicate the presence of errors in the drawn up land survey plan;
• Drawing up an application reflecting the requirement to eliminate the existing error in the land survey plan;
• Providing a package of documentation, a receipt confirming payment of the state fee and the application itself to the cadastral chamber;
• Receiving a response within 15 days from the date of filing the application. In most cases, the cadastral chamber refuses to satisfy the person’s request, citing the presence of an existing boundary plan;
• Submitting an appeal to the court. This is done to make it possible to force changes to the drawn up plan based on a court decision;
• Drawing up a claim, providing a completed application with a package of documentation, including confirmation of an attempt at pre-trial settlement along with a receipt for payment of the state fee.

Who has the right to challenge the results?

The potential for contesting the current survey results through an appeal to the court exists only insofar as the plaintiff—a person or organization—has reasonable grounds.

Therefore, these people have the specific right to contest established boundaries in court:

• Persons using the site or adjacent plots under the rights of a concluded lease agreement;
• Owners of plots who have documentary evidence of ownership of a certain plot of land;
• Persons who own a plot of land with the right to use it indefinitely;
• Persons who own a plot of land on the basis of lifelong inheritable ownership.

Documentation

In such cases, the preparation and provision of the required documentation package must go hand in hand with an appeal to the court in order to be able to challenge the land surveying results through the legal system.

Depending on the details of the case being considered, the list of documents may vary slightly, but it shares many characteristics, such as the ability to be distinguished:

• A document confirming the right to go to court to challenge the results of establishing boundaries (certificate of ownership, lease agreement, etc.).d.);
• A document confirming the ownership of the person who is filing the claim in court;
• The statement of claim itself, which contains the essence of the issue regarding the established boundaries of the site;
• Land survey plan containing errors;
• A new boundary plan containing the correct information that will need to be entered into the state register.

A submitted claim needs to include the following details:

• Full name of the applicant, his basic data, information about the site about which there is a dispute;
• Data from the defendant who has a different opinion regarding the boundaries;
• Indication of the essence of the problem – outlines the existing errors in the drawn up boundary plan that need to be eliminated. In the main part, it is recommended to indicate that the presence of an error violates the existing property right and at the same time does not allow the use of the site to the fullest extent;
• Reference to laws and other regulations on the basis of which the applicant may appeal and recognize the cadastral plan as invalid and requiring amendments;
• Date of completion and signature of the plaintiff.

Hearings

Prior to the trial, the court reviews the filed documents.

Then decides if there is a reason to start legal action.

Following that, a court hearing or public hearings are scheduled if all of the presented documents do not cast doubt on anything, no further evidence is needed, and no challenge is made.

Both the plaintiff’s and the defendant’s arguments are taken into consideration during the hearing itself, and the case’s final result will mostly depend on how comprehensive the list of facts provided in the statement of claim is.

If the document-based evidence base is insufficient, witnesses with direct relevance to the case may have their testimony taken into consideration when evaluating an application.

In the event that counterclaims are made, they are also taken into account and, if required, a geodetic company’s examination is scheduled.

Expert surveyors’ conclusions can be used to assess the accuracy of land surveying procedures and determine whether or not inaccurate data was used in the plan’s creation.

Solution

If there is enough evidence, the court may grant the plaintiff’s request to have the survey results declared invalid.

In this instance, a reapplication to Rosreestr is feasible. Based on the court decision that was provided, modifications will be made to the land plot’s data, provided that an accurate boundary plan is attached.

Arbitrage practice

Numerous judicial practice cases involving the invalidation of land survey results have resulted in excellent outcomes, contingent upon the completeness of the evidence presented and the testimony heard.

Specifically, there have been instances where a case has been rejected, legal action has been taken, and survey results have been deemed void.

There have been instances where the plaintiff’s demands were not met because it was determined after taking the circumstances into account that the plan that was created contains accurate information.

By dispute

There are several ways to challenge land surveying results in court. These include:

• Refusal to consider the case due to the fact that the person who sent the application is not the owner or user of the site, and therefore his direct rights were not affected or infringed;
• Refusal to initiate proceedings due to insufficient documents provided, that is, the plaintiff did not provide compelling arguments that the boundary plan contains errors;
• Refusal to consider the submitted application due to the lack of an attempt at pre-trial settlement – an appeal to Rosreestr to make changes to the boundary plan due to errors in the already drawn up.

Upon recognition of the results as invalid

After taking into account cases involving the invalidation of survey results, the plaintiff who filed the application in the following circumstances typically wins:

• If there is unauthorized occupation of land plots by neighbors, as a result of which the boundaries of the property have been distorted;
• If significant errors were made during the formation of the land allotment and determination of the area of ​​the plot, after which inaccurate data were entered into the state register;
• If, as a result of land surveying, the act of approval of the established boundaries was not signed by all interested parties;
• If the mandatory procedure for notifying owners and users of adjacent areas about the upcoming procedure for drawing out boundaries and their approval has not been followed;
• If reliable data is provided indicating the presence of errors in the boundary plan of the site.

Reason	Description
Inaccurate Measurements	Errors in measurements that affect property boundaries.
Fraudulent Activity	Deliberate falsification of survey data.
Procedural Errors	Failure to follow legal procedures during the survey.
Lack of Proper Documentation	Missing or incomplete paperwork supporting the survey.
Conflict of Interest	Surveyor having a personal interest in the land being surveyed.
Unauthorized Changes	Alterations to the survey results without proper authorization.

It can be difficult to challenge land surveying results in court, but doing so is frequently required to safeguard your property rights. Building a strong case requires an understanding of the factors that can invalidate survey results, such as measurement errors, improper procedures, or bias.

Inaccurate measurements are one of the most frequent grounds for contesting survey results. You may lose ownership rights if minor mistakes result in large differences in property borders. In addition, there may be grounds for invalidation if the surveyor violated appropriate procedures or had a conflict of interest.

The surveyor’s work quality is another crucial consideration. An in-depth analysis of their apparatus and procedures may uncover weaknesses that compromise the validity of the survey. Obtaining proof and expert testimony will help you prove your case in court and improve your chances of winning.

It can be difficult to contest land survey results, but it’s frequently a necessary step to make sure that the boundaries of your property are clearly marked and acknowledged by the law. You can defend your property rights and get a just outcome by being aware of the possible grounds for invalidation and building a strong case.

Video on the topic

Land surveying in the Moscow region. Recognition of land ownership in court

Surveying with violations I What to do? I The cadastral engineer made a mistake

We challenge the land surveying

Surveying. Is it possible to declare land surveying illegal through the court?? / Land lawyer Badeev in the Northern Administrative District

Border disputes. Invalidity of land survey of a neighbor"s land plot? (Granny"s court)

5 reasons not to survey your land