Determining Land Ownership and Access Rights
Agenda
Registration: 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session: 8:30 – 11:45 am
Lunch (On your own): 11:45 am – 12:45 pm
Afternoon Session: 12:45 – 5:00 pm
Defining Trespass and Adverse Possession
F. Kosir Jr.
Defining trespass
Reviewing the history of adverse possession
Maintaining a claim for adverse possession
• Statute of limitations
• Elements of a claim
Defending against a claim for adverse possession
Examining recent adverse possession cases
Locating Land Boundaries on Paper (And on the Ground)
A. Hopkins
What a deed tells us about real property interests and their locations—or doesn’t
Common kinds of land descriptions in Pennsylvania
Reading a description to find evidence of location
The work involved in writing a description
Tying the paper deed to the ground: what is evidence of a boundary?
Why paper and ground may not match
When the paper and ground don’t match: the hierarchy of evidence in descriptions
Summary: elements in a good description
GIS/GPS Datasets, and NCEES Models/Laws Related to Surveying and Mapping
J. Horneman
Authoritative versus non-authoritative data in the architectural/engineering fields
Empirical discrepancies between GIS data overlaid with field surveyed property
How accurate IS your GPS data?
NCEES reforms (Federal and State laws)
Resolving Boundary Disputes
R. Bowman
Types of boundary disputes
• Adverse possession, easements, boundaries
Obtaining and reviewing boundary evidence
Methods for establishing disputed boundaries
Participating in Dispute Resolution Techniques
R. Bowman
• Litigation, arbitration, mediation, agreements, title insurance
Examining boundary dispute case studies: exploring techniques for resolving sample disputes
Understanding Riparian and Water Rights
R. Bowman
History and development of riparian rights
Determining land boundaries near the water line
Determining access rights to surface waters
Determining rights to groundwater
Complying with regulations restricting access to and use of surface water and groundwater
Credits
Attorneys
7.0 Pennsylvania CLE Hours
Pennsylvania Title Insurance Producers
8.0 General CE Hours
Land Surveyors & Engineers
7.0 PDHs
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to the public and is approved by the Pennsylvania CLE Board for 7.0 substantive CLE hours for attorneys.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department has approved this course for 8.0 general continuing education hours for insurance producers.
This event offers 7.0 PDHs to Pennsylvania land surveyors and engineers. Educators and courses are not subject to preapproval in Pennsylvania.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.
Speakers
Rebecca A. Bowman, P.E., D.F.E.
Law Office of Rebecca Bowman, PrincipalMs. Bowman is a sole proprietor, practicing in dispute resolution, estate planning, civil engineering, real estate, legal services, strategic development, and training. She is experienced in dispute resolution, estate planning and administration, engineering design and forensic analysis, construction/project management, real estate, small business start-up, employment law, and nonprofit support. She is a registered professional engineer and a certified arbitrator and mediator. Mrs. Bowman writes a column for the PE Reporter, “Risky Business,” and she lectures for the Community College of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania State University, the Washington County Bar Association, the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers, and others. She earned her B.S. degree in Civil Engineering from the University of North Dakota, her M.B.A. degree from Oklahoma University, and her J.D. degree from Duquesne University. She recently joined the National Society of Professional Engineers as their Senior Director of Ethics and Professional Practice.
Amy Hopkins
Urban Terrain LLCOwner, Urban Terrain LLC, a land surveying company in ApolloMs. Hopkins is a professional land surveyor licensed in both Pennsylvania and New York. Her experience has been focused on providing permitting and surveying services for multiple energy clients. She works directly with land managers, regulatory specialists, geologists, and drilling engineers to complete permitting, boundary surveys, construction layout and as-built record plans. She also looks out for the best interests of surface and mineral right owners. Ms. Hopkins also has an extensive background in commercial development, ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys and as an expert witness. She was honored by the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors as the Surveyor of the Year at the Society’s annual conference in Hershey, PA in January 2016. Ms. Hopkins is a member of Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) Pittsburgh chapter and the Women’s Business Network, Murrysville chapter.
Jeffrey A. Horneman, PLS (PA, WV, NY), GISP
Horneman Surveying & Cartography
Mr. Horneman, PLS/GISP, has been working in the survey/geospatial field since joining the U.S. Army Reserves in 1984 as a geodetic surveyor. He attended the Defense Mapping School (now the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) in Fort Belvoir for geodetic surveying and received continuing education at the U.S. Army Professional Development Institute, the Community College of the Air Force, and various conferences, acquiring more than 400 continuing education credits in surveying, mapping, geology, GIS, and engineering. Mr. Horneman’s experience over the past 40 years includes surface and underground mining surveying, design and permitting, boundary and topographic surveys, ALTA surveys, subdivisions, construction surveying, GIS oversight, oil and gas wells and pipelines, and consulting. He has worked with several small to large private engineering and survey firms, as well as the U.S. Government (U.S. Army Reserves, U.S. Air Force Reserves, and as a civilian with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Mr. Horneman retired from the Reserves as a Master Sergeant with 24 years of service. He currently works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh District, as the Deputy Chief of Real Estate/Chief of the Geospatial Branch for cadastral projects and GIS base mapping. Mr. Horneman is also managing his own firm, Horneman Surveying, LLC. He has been teaching professional classes for the last 15 years in various continuing education venues, including Half Moon Education, PSLS, and WVSPS. Mr. Horneman is licensed as a Professional Land Surveyor in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York, and is also a GIS Professional. He is a past president of the PSLS Southwest Chapter and has served as the PADEP‐PSLS Liaison Committee chair and on the Geospatial Committee and Legislative Committee. Mr. Horneman resides in Natrona Heights, PA, with his wife Sharon of 32 years, living near his four grown sons (two which are surveyors) and two grandchildren.
Frank Kosir Jr.
Frank Kosir, Jr. is an attorney with Meyer, Unkovic & Scott LLP. Mr. Kosir has significant civil litigation and general practice experience in all areas of real property law including real estate tax assessment appeals, real estate sales, purchase, and leasing, oil and gas lease negotiations, real estate title defense and claims, landlord-tenant actions, quiet title actions, eminent domain actions, zoning and land use actions, boundary line disputes and Covid-19 related real estate issues. Prior to entering the practice of law, he acquired extensive experience in all facets of real estate development, sales, construction, and leasing with his family’s home construction company, which has operated for more than sixty years. Mr. Kosir’s knowledge of the construction, planning, and business aspects of real estate provide him with a unique understanding that he utilizes in assisting clients. He writes quarterly real estate update columns in The Legal Intelligencer and frequently lectures at continuing legal education programs.