Loss of Property Due to Adverse Possession, Surveyor Error

My question involves real estate located in the State of: Nebraska

We have been involved in a land dispute on the river or accretion ground with our neighbor, who happens to be an attorney. We have been in a battle for over a year, finally going to court and actually losing our deeded land. The property was purchased privately from family friends and we just used the survey on file.

After purchasing it we got a letter saying the said neighbor was going to use the adverse possession law on us. We fought back but and like mentioned before lost. My question is... Since the survey was the same since 1952 and only when challenged did the surveyor change the survey to benefit our neighbor and said "she made a mistake" can we sue for damages?

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Quoting Marla V

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My question involves real estate located in the State of: Nebraska
We have been involved in a land dispute on the river or accretion ground with our neighbor, who happens to be an attorney. We have been in a battle for over a year, finally going to court and actually losing our deeded land. The property was purchased privately from family friends and we just used the survey on file.

After purchasing it we got a letter saying the said neighbor was going to use the adverse possession law on us. We fought back but and like mentioned before lost. My question is... Since the survey was the same since 1952 and only when challenged did the surveyor change the survey to benefit our neighbor and said "she made a mistake" can we sue for damages?

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Did you lose the land entirely or only a portion that was challenged? If only a portion, how much actual land did you lose? Did you have title insurance for the sale?

-We lost a portion, approx 9-15 acres. Yes we had title insurance, however when we talked to them to help us they showed us a clause in the insurance that excludes them.

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Quoting Marla V

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-We lost a portion, approx 9-15 acres. Yes we had title insurance, however when we talked to them to help us they showed us a clause in the insurance that excludes them.

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That is too much land to be asking questions on an internet forum. You need to talk to your real estate attorney.

We did/do have an attorney but he has done nothing for us but loose. We owe him more than 30k for his services and I am trying to seek some help in possibly going after the surveyor for damages. The attorney wants more money to do that and I am less than confident in his abilities at this point. I would like to see if I could possibly file on my own?

Give us a time line. When did the court render a verdict and what does your attorney say about an appeal?

We don't have the facts or the court record to say whether or not there was a valid claim for adverse possession. In any event, I don't think you have a cause of action against the surveyor. It actually doesn't make sense because if you thought you owned more land than you did because of a bad survey and the neighbor was using that land (and fulfilling the elements of AP), you should have done something about it.

You can give us some facts so we understand what transpired or just consult with a different attorney if the time for appeal has not passed. If it has, you are stuck with the outcome.

As this appears to be a riparian case (accretion) it would not be an adverse possession case. It is one or the other. Which is it?

Having run up $30k in legal bills, your attorney should be crystal clear about it at this point.

What is the error you believe the surveyor has made?

Your original post suggests the surveyor that surveyed the property 65 years ago is still alive and involved in the situation. That sounds highly unlikely as they would have to be over 85 years old now (actually more like 90 and that is if they surveyed the property extremely early in their career). That sounds unlikely. If it isn’t, can you explain who the “she” is that changed the survey.

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Quoting gisguy

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As this appears to be a riparian case (accretion) it would not be an adverse possession case. It is one or the other. Which is it?

Having run up $30k in legal bills, your attorney should be crystal clear about it at this point.

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It can be both.

http://scholar.google.com/scholar_ca...25161172267426

Yes it is accretion. But he tried to win on adverse possession so ended up going the other route and won.

The original surveyor is not alive. The current surveyor had surveyed it several times for other property owners and for the county. She only changed it for this case, it had remained the same until now.

He wants more money to "go after the surveyor" and I do not feel like giving him another penny. So was hoping to see if there is a way to do it myself?