AC21: How to Read and Plot Legal Descriptions (Sketching Descriptions)

Barry Savage · June 26, 2021
Course Type Duration Assessment CLE Credit Available
On-Demand 1 Hour Yes 1 Hour

A legal description is much more than just the measurements it contains. To understand a legal description, it is necessary to understand the true role of measurements in surveying and how courts resolve ambiguities in deeds. The measurements in a description allows someone to plot the geometry but may not properly describe the property as the evidence found on a field survey may uncover. Understanding which calls are directive and which are locative is critical to understanding the true function of a description.

About Instructor

Barry Savage

Barry E. Savage is currently the manager of the Survey Products Group at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Prior to his service at TVA he was in private survey practice for 10 years specializing in dispute resolution and expert witness services. He has surveyed several disputed state boundaries to resolve jurisdictional conflicts. Mr. Savage is an adjunct professor at Cleveland State Community College where he teaches courses in boundary law, geodesy, GIS, and surveying fundamentals. He has researched and retraced the historical surveys of Henry David Thoreau and has published several articles on the subject. Mr. Savage teaches exam review and continuing education seminars at various state and local conferences across the country. He has served as director of production for Cook and Spencer Consultants in Chattanooga. Mr. Savage was a senior designer at Psi Consulting Engineers where he worked on structural and environmental design. He was also a survey supervisor at Whitfield Engineering in Dalton, Georgia. Mr. Savage received his B.S. degree, with high honors, in Civil Engineering Technology from the University of Tennessee at Martin.

5 Courses

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Course Includes

  • 2 Lessons
  • 1 Quiz
  • Course Certificate