Kershaw v. Starnes
Kershaw v. Starnes
Opinion of the Court
Curia, per
This is a question of costs, and must be decided by the fee bill. It is said the plaintiffs’ land could only be located by the surrounding tracts, and that therefore the location and delineation of these on the plat was indispensable to the understanding of the plaintiffs’ claim : accordingly, the surveyor has represented and laid down on his plat *all these surrounding tracts, as well as those under which the parties claimed. For each of these tracts of land the surveyor claims to be allowed ten shillings, and the question submitted to this Court is, whether such allowance is consistent with the fee bill. The words of the fee bill of 1791 are, “for making out a fair plat, certifying, signing and returning the same, ten shillings ” The rule of Court in this, as in other cases, I presume, required the surveyor to survey the land in dispute between the parties, and to return a plat thereof to the Court. The plat which he is required to make is a representation of the disputed land. The boundaries, whether they be marked trees, water courses, or surrounding tracts of land, are but component parts of the plat he is required to make. They are but the evidences of the identity of the land claimed ; and I can see no more reason for allowing additional compensation where the boundary is an adjoining survey, than where it is a river or creek, or any other natural or artificial boundary. It is his duty to search out the lines of the land, and when he has done so and fixed the location, to return a plat thereof to the Court. For searching for the lines he is allowed three dollars a day, and for a plat of the land he is allowed ten shillings. Every thing beyond the representation of the land in dispute is inserted as the evidences of identity. If the boundary be identified by marked trees, he puts them down on the plat; if by a river, he does the same ; and if by the adjoining survey, he represents that on his plat; but these are put down only as evidences of the identity and true location of the land. They are component parts
The motion is dismissed as to the other ground.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.