Trespass prosecution

[JFK52]

I had trespassing problems during the first few years I owned my property in Portage county Wisconsin. I do not live on this land. I had guys setting up tree stands and ground blinds well into my land. One fellow insisted on using a road on my side of the line as there was no vehicular access on the other side. One neighbor mowed 40 yards onto my land to a kind of tree fort in an oak tree that he said was for his grandkid. I had the sheriff pay him a visit and explain this was not allowed. I tore down the tree fort. I put up a five strand barb wire fence exactly on the surveyed border line on the mutual border with this idiot.
The tree stand issue was resolved by telling the neighbor who allowed the hunter onto his land that either the stand would come down in 24 hours or the sheriff would get involved. It got taken down. Funny that the neighbor did not seem to think he had any responsibility for this situation. I told him that he gave permission to a person to hunt his land so he was responsible for their actions.
I prosecuted the fellow who drove on my land when I caught him doing it and got pictures of him driving on my road. He was served a ticket by the sheriff in person and paid a $120 fine.
I quit being nice to trespassers a long time ago or giving them a second chance. As it turned out, my problems were exclusively caused by my neighbors and/or their company. The word got around the local area that I would prosecute and I have not had any problems for many years. If some of my neighbors do not care for me because of my zero tolerance, I will not be losing any sleep over that fact.
I wish you the best of luck resolving your problems.

 

[Jeff H]

Update...it appears a survey has been done and as no surprise that all markers show that my road is on my side of the property line. There are markers about every 30 yards or so. So it appears that they have paid someone to tell them what I've already told them. There surveyor does not appear to be a licensed surveyor either. He's the guy that showed up on a Sunday morning last month.
The good news is the line he layed appears to be where I knew it to be and since they paid for it that are more likely to abide by it.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Elkaddict]

I'd suggest you take detailed photos to document where their markers were. Shitheads will change their story in a second when the facts don't support their reality.

 

[George]

So from now on it can be a trespass case.

G

 

[DocHolladay]

Document with pictures and ask the sheriff/local law enforcement to come and verify. That way, if a stink is made, the sheriff can vouch that he saw it with his own eyes.

 

[Baker]

When I first got my farm many years ago poaching year round was rampant and unstoppable. Night/day/time of year...didnt matter. The only way I began to get control of the property was to clear a 400-500 ft clearing around the perimeter turning woodland into pasture and hire sheriffs to patrol the property on horse back and 4 wheeler. Still had some poaching but that slowed things down.

One guy owned 40 acres in the middle of my farm. One day as the sheriff was riding his horse in full uniform..armed.. the 'neighbor' shot at the ground directly in front of his horse with a 30-06. By the time I finished with civil and criminal charges we agreed on a fair price and I bought the property and released him from the suit.

Another time we found a truck flipped over in a creek when the drunk poachers failed to effectively navigate the crossing. Lucky they weren't killed. They had cut the chain on the gate and gone spot lighting. Full prosecution has stopped them from hunting for a few years.

My success in dealing with poachers has come from taking draconian action against anyone caught, clearing a perimeter where they have to cross a wide opening to get on the property, building a game fence, and having camera surveillance all around the property. A group of like minded land owners in the area have all teamed together to form an organization and we hire a full time patrolman from Oct1- thru Feb.to keep an eye out. Also have worked hard to create great relationships with all neighbors now bordering my property. Things have been very quiet for the last few years.

 

[Jeff H]

Thanks for all of the replies and support. It really does help. For the fist 15 years I really did have it good as far as poaching and neighbor issues. A part of me realized how fortunate I was and so when the house where the trespassers live now came up for sale 2 years ago I wanted to buy it. I knew that the only way to control your neighborhood is to own it. My wife talked me out of it and she was right to do so. I'm not a wealthy man and with three teens in the house, college tuitions looming and two mortgages already we really didn't need a third mortgage. It would have put a lot of stress on the family.
So hearing everyone else's nightmare stories really does help me in putting all of this in perspective. It's just a part of owning property I suppose. I've got some options on how to deal with my issue going forward but I'm learning that I need to let some things play out a bit before making a decision.
One question for any surveyors out there: If a property is surveyed by a licensed and registered surveyor is is public information? And if it is, is the surveyor who performed the survey listed on some sort of document ?

 

[Bowhunter]

One question for any surveyors out there: If a property is surveyed by a licensed and registered surveyor is is public information? And if it is, is the surveyor who performed the survey listed on some sort of document ?

Good question. A boundary survey is not public information unless it is filed with the county clerk, or register. Also; the survey is owned by the licensed surveyor or the client who pays for the survey. A survey that is not recorded with the county doesn't hold any weight over a recorded survey.

There is a saying that we were taught in college. "He who surveys first, wins"

 

[Jeff H]

Good question. A boundary survey is not public information unless it is filed with the county clerk, or register. Also; the survey is owned by the licensed surveyor or the client who pays for the survey. A survey that is not recorded with the county doesn't hold any weight over a recorded survey.

There is a saying that we were taught in college. "He who surveys first, wins"

Good info. Thanks !

 

[dogghr]

Hard to answer question about diff states as laws and norms vary. Also keep in mind the name you see on a survey depending on the laws of a state, may not be the individual that did the survey may not be registered/licensed in that state, but it has been stamped/approved by a registered surveyor in that state who the other happens to work under or has an aggreement with. That doesn't mean he's not an excellent surveyor, just not certified/licensed in that state. And the person that stamps the survey is technically held accountable for said survey. In some states survey is often recorded with the deed, or description with the registered surveyor name attached.

 

[Elkaddict]

A recorded survey is subject to legal attack in the same way any erroneous recorded document is. Don't assume an automatic win if you beat the adjacent landowner to file your version. In the end, it's frequently just another battle of the expert witnesses. There are areas of the law where the law presumes the first to file certain documents like a mortgage or UCC security agreement may have certain rights. However, it's very rare in the jurisdictions I've litigated for these presumptions to trump good lawyering. Just my .02.

 

[Bowhunter]

A recorded survey is subject to legal attack in the same way any erroneous recorded document is. Don't assume an automatic win if you beat the adjacent landowner to file your version. In the end, it's frequently just another battle of the expert witnesses. There are areas of the law where the law presumes the first to file certain documents like a mortgage or UCC security agreement may have certain rights. However, it's very rare in the jurisdictions I've litigated for these presumptions to trump good lawyering. Just my .02.

True, a recorded survey is subject to legal attack like any other document, but it needs to be proven to be erroneous, which is easier said than done with a boundary survey. There would need to be some type of large error or blunder by the original boundary survey to do so, and then there is the means of intent which holds a lot of weight in boundary law. When a recorded survey is attached to a deed that is part of a transfer of title, and recorded, it is a very difficult document to overrule. I'm not sure how much of an affect good lawyering can do in this situation. Any competent licensed land surveyor's opinion on stand will outweigh even Matlock arguing a case.

In Jeff H's case where his parcel is the dominant estate, and his neighbor is the servient estate(the neighbors parcel was created from his parcel), any boundary line dispute will favor the dominant estate overwhelmingly. Like previously mentioned; It would take a very large blunder or error for the servient estate to win a judgement against the dominant estate. In my 20 years as a Land Surveyor, I have never seen such an instance.

Also; all state land surveying licensure boards state in their code of ethics which every licensed surveyor is to follow, that they must "follow in the footsteps of any previous surveyor". This is a point that is beat into you, not only while in college, but also on every exam that you take in order to gain your Professional Land Surveying license. If you change a boundary line of another recorded boundary survey, you better have a VERY good reason, or else you'll be hearing from the licensure board.

 

[Buckly]

Is it required to put pins in to be anything legal? I have seen just lath and flags but wonder how much weight that holds as to putting a permanent marker in.

 

[Bowhunter]

Is it required to put pins in to be anything legal? I have seen just lath and flags but wonder how much weight that holds as to putting a permanent marker in.

No, it is not required to monument your boundary corners to make the survey legal. Depending on where your located, some surveyors don't do any monumentation at all. Although this is bad practice, its what is done in certain areas.

The actual boundary survey document and having an embossed or stamped seal attached is what makes it legal.