The North Carolina General Assembly has promulgated two statutes of limitation for negligence actions against a land surveyor, one for 3 years and one for 10 years. Recently the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided that the 10 year statute of limitations was the more specific statute, therefore rules of interpretation required that it apply.
As a land surveyor, you could be held liable 10 years after the last act “giving rise to the cause of action.” Be sure to maintain errors and omissions insurance to cover these instances. Also, know whether your policy is a claims-made policy or an occurrence policy. Under the former a claim is covered if it is made during the time the policy is effect. Most errors and omissions and professional liability policies are claims-made. Therefore, failure to keep your errors and omissions insurance for this length of period could subject you to liability.
For more information on this topic or any other construction law matter, please contact Anderson Jones Attorney Lindsey Powell at (919) 277-2541 or by email!