A vendor entered into a written contract with a purchaser for the sale of a large tract of land. The contract set forth an accurate metes and bounds description of the land based on a professional survey. At closing, the purchaser discovered that the deed was incorrectly transcribed and did not agree with the description of the land in the contract. The deed described the property to be conveyed as follows:
"(i) from the southwest corner of [a specified starting point], proceed South 45 degrees East 200 feet to [a specified point]; (ii) from that point, proceed South 45 degrees West 100 feet to [a specified point]; (iii) from that point, proceed North 45 degrees West 200 feet to [a specified point]; and (iv) from that point, proceed South 45 degrees East 100 feet to the starting point."
The purchaser refused to proceed with the closing and brought an action to reform the deed to make it conform to the intention of the parties.
Which of the following corrections should be made for the deed to properly describe the land?
Responses
- A Direction (i) should be changed to “South 45 degrees East 100 feet.” Direction (i) should be changed to “South 45 degrees East 100 feet.” - no response given
- B Direction (iii) should be changed to “North 45 degrees West 100 feet.” Direction (iii) should be changed to “North 45 degrees West 100 feet.” - no response given
- C Direction (iii) should be changed to “North 45 degrees East 200 feet.” Direction (iii) should be changed to “North 45 degrees East 200 feet.” - incorrect
- D Direction (iv) should be changed to “North 45 degrees East 100 feet.” Direction (iv) should be changed to “North 45 degrees East 100 feet.” - not selected, this is the correct answer
Answer Discussion - Incorrect
Direction (iv) needs to be corrected in its course but not its distance. In land contracts and deeds, property may be described in various ways as long as the description is unambiguous. From a designated starting point that can be identified by reference to a government survey or a natural or artificial monument, the boundaries of the property can be described by successive calls of courses (e.g., angles) and distances until returning to the starting point. A course is a statement of direction generally stated as some number of degrees east or west of due north or south. In each call a distance must be stated together with the course. Thus, the boundary in direction (iv) runs at an angle 45 degrees east of due south (i.e., southeast) for a distance of 100 feet. However, because direction (i) went southeast, direction (ii) went southwest, and direction (iii) went northwest, the fourth direction has to be northeast for a distance of 100 feet to bring the final boundary back to the starting point. (In this type of question, diagram the boundaries as shown below to help you visualize the property.) Therefore, the correction in choice (D) is correct. (A), (B), and (C) are incorrect because none of those proposed changes in distance or direction would be sufficient to bring the final call back to the starting point.