Where a survey has been made to establish the boundary to a parcel of land and there is a dispute between two or more owners of the land so surveyed as to the location of the boundary as located by such surveyor, the surveyor may make or cause to be made a review of the appropriate deeds of the parcels of land involved to determine the correct property description and location of the line.

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Terms Used In West Virginia Code 55-4-31a

  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Judgment: includes decrees and orders for the payment of money, or the conveyance or delivery of land or personal property, or some interest therein, or any undertaking, bond or recognizance which has the legal effect of a judgment. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.

If there is not sufficient evidence at the site of the parcels involved to ascertain the true location of the boundary line, the parties to the dispute may secure the judgment and knowledge of another licensed land surveyor or surveyors or registered professional engineer or engineers as to the true location. If an agreement is reached between all of the owners of the land involved in the dispute, then a straw deed or deed of correction shall be made, with the signatures of all parties affixed thereto.

If after the intervention of the additional surveyor, surveyors, engineer or engineers, there still exists a dispute as to the location of the boundary line, then any party may bring an action pursuant to section thirty-one of this article in the circuit court of the county where the land is located to ascertain the true location of the boundary line: Provided, That in any such action no party to such action shall be permitted to introduce into evidence any agreement with respect to the boundary dispute between two or more parties to the action if such agreement is not embodied in a corrective or straw deed executed by the parties.

Nothing in this section shall prevent or be deemed a condition precedent to the institution of an action under section thirty-one of this article.