Surveyor's Testimony May Prove Property Ownership

In cases involving disputes over the ownership of land between adjacent landowners, various methods of proof of ownership are available to the parties.  In the opinion in Wallis v. Porter, Case No. S11A0913 issued November 7, 2011, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld the decision of a trial court in Union County in which the prevailing landowner offered various forms of evidence including testimony from a surveyor qualified as an expert witness.  The Georgia Supreme Court, which is an appellate court sitting in a review capacity on appeal, held that the standard of review only required a showing that "any evidence" existed to support the ruling of the trial court.  The appellate court held that it was not sitting in a capacity to reweigh the evidence.