Event Details

NCSS is partnering with the NE Piedmont Chapter to present this seminar.

Registration begins at 7:30 am and class concludes at 4:30 pm. Donuts and Lunch will be provided.

Topic:

Mock Trial - Needham v Hise by Gary Kent

Topic Description:

Roger Franklin took title to the entirety of a roughly one-mile square Grant in 1828.

Mr. Franklin commissioned J.W. Pence to perform a survey of a part of the Grant in 1838, ostensibly dividing it into quarters.

Over the course of the following 42 years, Mr. Franklin divested himself of his entire interest in the Grant.

Through a series of acquisitions between 1850 and 1856, John Campbell came into title to both the west half of the apparent northwest quarter and the east half of the apparent northeast quarter of the Grant.

W. Pence conducted yet another survey of the Grant in 1859, dividing it further into various smaller parts.

In 1870, John Campbell’s widow Martha sold all of her property in Grant to Robert Hise. Mr. Hise conveyed his interest in the property to his son Robert Hise, Jr. in 1937.

After he died, Robert Hise Jr’s widow, Opal, sold her interest in the east half of the apparent northwest quarter of the Grant to her grandson Carl Hise, subject to a survey, which was completed four months later.

A fence was apparently erected on the surveyed line.

In 1975, Opal sold the west half of the apparent northeast quarter of the Grant to another grandson, Walter Hise, who conveyed it to Gerald Needham in 2021.

By 2024, a dispute had arisen over the location of the common line, resulting in this litigation between Mr. Needham and Carl Hise.

Two attorneys and a judge will participate, with the audience serving as the jury as the plaintiff, defendant, and the two surveyors testify, and we explore the chains of title, conflicting plats and surveys of the Mohawk Lake Subdivision lots, and the related boundary law principles.

As an integral part of the trial, questions will be taken from the audience. In addition, the judge will discuss the process and procedures in such a case, and the attorneys will offer guidance and suggestions to those who would testify as expert witnesses.

Instructor:

Gary Kent is a Professional Surveyor with Schneider Geomatics in Indianapolis. After 37 years, he transitioned to part-time in 2020 and formed Meridian Land Consulting, LLC through which he provides training, consulting, and expert witness services. Gary was Chair of the Joint ALTA/NSPS Workgroup responsible for the ALTA/NSPS Standards from 1995 to 2026 and remains actively involved with the standards. He has presented programs on boundaries, standards, risk management, easements, leadership, safety, and other topics multiple times in all 50 states. Gary served on the Indiana State Board of Registration for Professional Surveyors from 2004 to 2025 and is a past president of both ACSM and the Indiana Society of Professional Land Surveyors.