NSAPLS Joseph V.R. Paiva · 2018-04-03 · 1 Joseph V.R. Paiva NSAPLS January 2018 ® Courts, legal...

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JosephV.R.PaivaNSAPLS January2018

®  Courts,legalprofession,dealwithambiguities®  Bothsideshavefacts;whichsideprevails?®  Testimony,evidenceandargumentsareusedtofurthereachside’sclaims

®  Surveyorsaskedtoprovidetestimony0nmeasurementandanalysisofpropertylinesandotherpoints,lines,planesandvolumesonthesurfaceoftheearth

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®  Evenifnolawsuitpending,surveyormustbepreparedtoanswerthesequestions…

®  Itiswhatwedo!

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®  Itisthesurveyor’sprofessionalresponsibilitytoconducthimorherselfasifitis

®  Thatis,factsmustbedocumented;decisionsmustberecordedwithunderlyingreasoningproperlylaidout

®  Therearemanyreasons“why”or“what”isaskedthatarenotconnectedwithalawsuitbutastotheproprietyofasurveyor’sprofessionalconduct

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®  Testimony®  Dealingwiththeissue(thesamewayyoutackleanyotherproblem)

®  Ethicalresponsibility®  Surveyor’sreport®  Skillsdevelopment

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®  CaseA:Disputedevelopsafterthesurveyor’sworkiscompleted

®  CaseB:Disputedevelopsfirstandsurveyorishiredasexpert

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®  Ifsurveyorperformedworknotthinkingabouthowtodefendworkincourt,testimonycouldfaceobstaclestobeingadmitted

®  Inspiteofallthewarnings,howmanysurveyorsroutinelyperformtheirworkasiftheyhadbeenhiredasanexpert?

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®  Clientisusuallyattorney®  Surveyorhastomakeitclearthathis/herworkisnotguaranteedtodevelopcaseonclient’sbehalf

®  Expert’sstatusisthatofanimpartialwitness;thusfindingsmustbethesameregardlessofwhichsidedoesthehiring

®  However,interpretationswithrespecttothelawmustbelefttothelawyers,butsurveyorscanadviseonprosandcons

®  Extracarefulprepandattentiontodetailisreq’d

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®  Whatdoestheexpertdo?®  Doestheaveragesurveyorknowwhatitentails?®  Isthelegalandjudicialprocessamystery?Ifso,thelikelihoodoffailureasanexpertishigh

®  Canthesurveyorspeak(andwrite)withauthority?

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®  WhetherCaseAorCaseB,thiscourseofferstipson­  Howtobeabetterexpert­  Tounderstandwhatisexpected­  Howtobeatrueprofessionalinprovidingtheseservices

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®  Understanditfirst®  Figureouthowtotackleit®  Communicateoftenandwell®  (always!)

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®  Onceaneedforanexperthasbeenidentifiedandthesurveyorhired,theproblemmustbewell-definedfirst

®  Developplanonhowtoattackit;outlinealternatepathsincaseprimaryisblocked

®  Dataiscollected®  Analysisdone®  Opinion(s)rendered®  Judgmentsformed

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®  Thesurveyormustbeginwithadiscussionwithclientastotheissues;readingreports,legaldocumentsfiled,perhapsotherexpertopinionsmustberead

®  Surveyordevelopsplanofattack®  Thentheplanmustbecommunicatedwithattorney

®  Agreed-uponschedulesmustbefollowed

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®  Leavenostoneunturned®  Surveysarenottheonlymeansforgatheringdata®  Lookatsimilarcases®  Oppositeexperts’opinions;dataandanalysis®  Evenoppositeexpert’sofficeandfieldequipment®  Documentadnauseum(photographs,testimony,certifiedcopies,contactinformationofpartiesprovidinginformation,etc.)

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®  Bepainstakingintheanalysis®  Takeeverystepwiththoughtabouthowtodefendit

®  Beconstantlythinkingabouthowtocommunicatetheprocess,resultsandconclusions

®  Document

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®  Oralincourt(i.e.fromthewitnessbox)supplementedwithexhibits,surveys,focusedsurveysand“cartoons”

®  Depositions—oral®  Interrogatories—written®  Allyournotesandrecords(fromeverysource)®  Surveyor’s(written)reportoropinions®  [Youcan’twriteaboutitifyoucan’ttalkaboutit]

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®  FormatandcontentMUSTbediscussedwithattorney

®  Followattorney’sinstructions,butdonothesitatetoexpressyouropinion

®  Beginreportwithwhatyouwilldoinitandhowyouwillreachyouropinions,usingwhatdataandinformation

®  Listbiographicalinformationestablishingyouasexpertinthismatter(includecompensationandstatethatitisnotdependentoncaseoutcome)

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®  Listgroupsofinformationconsideredinformingopinions

®  Summaryofopinions®  Opinionsseparatedbycategories,togetherwithdetailedanalysis,explanations,illustrations,footnotes,citations,etc.

®  Closewithconclusionandsignature

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®  Whilewemakejudgmentsfromouranalysisandtheopinionsweform,attorneyandjudgesaren’talwaysreceptivetoussayingso

®  Bealwayssituationallyaware.Evenifyoumakejudgmentsdon’talwayscallthemthat.

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®  “Ihavebeenretainedby…“®  “Ihavebeenaskedtoexpressopinions…on(a)basedon…;(b)basedon…;(c)basedon….“

®  Providefullc.v.asappendix;includefactspertinenttocaseinbodyofreport

®  “InformingmyopinionsIreliedprimarilyon…”®  “Itismyopinion,basedon…,that<claims>,<statements>,<conclusions>,<analysis>,<conclusions>…areincorrect”

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®  “Iwillfurtherdemonstratethat…is/areactually…,leadingtotheconclusionthatX’sclaimsareincorrect/premature/flawed/incomplete/inconsequential…”

®  Include“Iampreparedtotestifyastothesematters…”

®  Whendescribinganalysisandconclusions,explaineverywordorphrasethatisnotinthecommonU.S.Englishvernacular

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®  Whenexplainingtermsquotefromwell-acceptedreferences(learnhowtoattributetobooks,articles,internetpages,speeches,interviews,catalogs,etc.)

®  Particularlypayattentiontothelawyer’sstandardstyleofformalwriting

®  Illustrateprofuselywithdiagrams,blowups,photographs,cartoons,similarsituations

®  Explainpurposeofeachcalculationandadjustment®  Indicatehowyourequipmentwasused,checkedandcalibratedoradjusted

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®  Quotefreelyfromtheappropriatedictionarytoexplainnon-standardandstandardwordsusedbyyouandothers

®  Donotbeshy®  Ifadetailbyoppositeexpertsisnotproperlydocumentedorexplained,attheveryleastsaythat“…Y’smethodissilentonthesubjectof…,andthusthereliabilityofhis/heropinionissuspect.”

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®  SteveKenney&JohnBorking,TheValueofPrivacyEngineering,2002(1)J.Info.L.&Tech.,https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/law/elj/jilt/2002_1/kenny.

®  AmericanBarAssociation,SectiononLegalEducationandAdmissionstotheBar,Statistics,http://www.americanbar.org/groups/legal_education/resources/statistics.html(lastvisitedDec.14,2017).

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®  HenryJulianAbraham,Justices,Presidents,andSenators290-95(5thed.2008).

®  WayneR.LaFave&AustinW.Scott,CriminalLaw§5.4(2ded.1986).

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®  Fullydocumentallsiteconditionsincludingweather(sky,temp,barometricpressure,humidity,precipitation)atvariouspartsoftheday

®  Rememberthatyouarediscussingfacts;ifyougethypothetical,beveryclearthatyouareanalyzingandopiningonahypotheticalsituation

®  Recordandreportotherenvironmentalandsitedata;e.g.trainsgobythissite…thescheduleis…

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®  Thejudge,jury,ifthere’sone,lawyers,arealllaypeoplewhenitcomestosurveying,ifyouarenotsurehe/she/theyunderstandit,breakitdownforthem…explainit.

®  Usetextbooklanguage;avoidcommoninformalterms(gun,pin,peg,stake,PK,MH,CL,FL,etc.)

®  Donottrytobeeconomicalwithtimeorspaceonpaperorexhibits…gettingyourpointacrossisprime!

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®  Havesomeonewithaneditor’seyereadandedityourwrittenstatements

®  Sometimeseditorsspecializeindifferenttypesofservices(readabilityvs.copyediting),soselectcarefullyandknowingly

®  Brevityisnotadesirableattributewhenimportantinformationisleftout…justdon’tmakeitsocomplicatedtheydon’tunderstand!

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®  Detailedrecordsofwhodidwhat®  Onlykeepwhatispertinenttowhatyoudid®  Alwaysreviewformaterialthatcanbemisinterpreted

®  Learntoexamineyourdocumentationandotherworkasifbeingcross-examined

®  Especiallydocumentqualityassurancetechniques(field,officeandelsewhere)

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Tape Length 0.01 Temperature 15o F Tension (pull) 5.4 lbs Sag 7.5” at center Alignment 1.4 ft at one end or 7.5” at center Tape Not Level 1.4 ft diff in elevation Plumbing 0.01 Marking 0.01 Interpolation 0.01

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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Tape Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 0.006 0.000036 Tension (5 lb error) 0.009 0.000081 Alignment (0.05 ft) 0.000 0.000000 Tape Not Level (0.5 ft) 0.001 0.000001 Plumbing 0.005 0.000025 Marking 0.001 0.000001 Interpolation 0.001 0.000001 SUM 0.023 0.000145

Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.012 ft

1: 8,000 OR 120 PPM 32

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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 5 PPM = 0.0005 0.00000025 Pressure (1” Hg) 5 PPM = 0.0005 0.00000025 Centering with pole 0.03 0.0009 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.003 0.000009 Mfr’s error scale 3 PPM = 0.0003 0.00000009 SUM 0.0393 0.000093459

Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.0306 ft

1: 3,000 OR 306 PPM 33©2018J.V.R.Paiva

Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Temp (10o F error) 5 PPM = 0.025 0.000625 Pressure (1” Hg) 5 PPM = 0.025 0.000625 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.003 0.000009 Mfr’s error scale 3 PPM = 0.015 0.000225 SUM 0.078 0.001534

Sq Rt of Sum of Errors2 = 0.03917 ft

1: 127,000 OR 8 PPM 34©2018J.V.R.Paiva

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Source Error (ft.) Error2 Length Known 0.000000 Tropospheric delays 0.0025 m = 0.008 ft 0.000067 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Centering w/O.P. 0.005 0.000025 Mfr’s error constant 0.01 m = 0.03281 0.001076 Mfr’s error scale 2 PPM = 0.005 0.000025 SUM 0.05581 0.001218

Sq Rt of Errors2 = 0.0349 ft

1:72,000 OR 14 PPM

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®  Fromthebeginning,ifwarranted,thesurveyormuststressthathisorheropinionontheessentialfactsmaycausethecasetocollapse

®  Theclientmustbeprepared;ifanattorney,theyshouldunderstand

®  Thisrequiresahighstandardofcommunicationfromthesurveyor—fortransmittinginformation,andforreceivingit

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®  Ateverystepoftheway,thesurveyormustbeevaluatingtheclient’slikelihoodforsuccess

®  Factsandopinionsadversetotheclient’scasemustbecommunicated,assoonaspracticable,withfulldisclosure

®  Surveyormustbeinapositionofcompetenceandstatustoinfluencedecisions,includingwhethertocontinueprosecutionofthecase

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®  Easytoviolatesimplybybeingcareless®  Justdon’ttalkaboutthecaseuntilcompletelyconcluded

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®  Self-assess®  Askthirdparties®  Findyourstrengthsandweaknesses®  Workonhowtoneutralizetheweaknesses

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®  Booksandarticlesonevidence,especiallyiftheyrelatetotechnicalissues

®  Storiesaboutsurveyor’sexperiencesasexpertwitnesses

®  SurveyingtheCourtroom,JohnBriscoe®  TheExpertWitnessHandbook,DanPoynter

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®  Anexpertwitnessisconsideredespeciallylearned

®  Butanyprofessionalwhoisofalearnedprofession,assurveyingis,issupposedtoatleastbe“ordinarily”learned

®  Havinganextensivelibraryandbeingwellreadonscienceandliteratureofthepast,presentandcuttingedgeisallrequiredtobeproperlysuccessful

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®  Ifyouareweakinthisarea,developgoodwritinghabitsonyourown,throughcourses,etc.

®  Readgoodliterature®  Havegoodreferencesonhowtowrite,howtocite,etc.

®  Technicalwritingisdifferentfromliterarywriting.Butknowledgeofonegreatlyimprovesone’schancesatdoingwellattheother.

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®  Talktolawyers,othersurveyors,evenifyouarenotinvolvedinalawsuit

®  Donotacceptasingleopinionor“fact”asrepresentingthetruthaboutwhatyouwillencounter

®  Developyourownskillsforassessingsituations,understandingambiguitiesandarrivingatconclusions

®  Don’thesitatetoaskforadvicefrom,orhiresomeone,toadvisewhohasmoreexperience

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®  Self-evaluatehow…®  Youcommunicateideas®  Explaintechnicalthingstonon-technicalpeople®  Simplify,useanalogies,toincreaseclarity,butnotleaveoutimportantinformation

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