Will we be asked to pay the current land value for building our house encroaching on neighbor's land?

Full question:

We built a house in February 2006 and thought that it was on the property line. We had ask the surveyor to survey. Now we find out that the person who surveyed our lot did not go all the way to the flag which is still there on the corner of the lot. We are now being sued for $20,000 plus $60,000 for punitive damages for our house encroaching 32.3 feet on the corner of his land. We had no idea when we built the house that this was the case as the surveyor did not flag anything or post any type of markers at that point. This land here is about $2500 per acre. How do we solve this problem? We do not have funds to pay them if they were to get this settlement. The total square footage in dispute is 521 feet. Does the court rule in favor of such greed as this is or will we be asked to pay the current land value?

• Category: Real Property
• Subcategory: Encroachment
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Tennessee

Answer:

In the case of an encroachment, a plaintiff may be awarded the fair value of the property. Typically, the court will determine value of property based upon expert evidence as to the value of comparable property in the location. In order to award punitive damages for an encroachment, courts have held that the plaintiff needs to prove the defendant acted with recklessness that shows a conscious disregard of property rights. Punitive damages are designed to deter conduct that was based on wrongful intent, usually requiring some proof of fraud, malice, oppression, or other wrongful and intentional motives.

If a surveyor is negligent is surveying property, by failing to use the standard of care and skills typical in the profession, and that negligence causes harm to another, it is possible that the surveyor may be liable for all or part of a claim brought against the person harmed.