Senate Bill No. 676
(By Senators Laird and Sypolt)
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[Introduced February 22, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §37-12-3, relating to
exempting licensed surveyors from liability for defamation or
slander of title when performing their professional duties;
and providing an exception.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §37-12-3, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 12. SURVEYORS.
§37-12-3. Qualified privilege.
As professional surveying provides for the evaluation and
interpretation of evidence and information concerning properties
and common boundaries that may be, or may become, in dispute,
licensed surveyors may not, except in cases of malicious intent, be held liable for defamation or slander of title while performing
their professional duties.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to exempt licensed surveyors
from liability for defamation or slander of title when performing
their professional duties. The bill also provides an exception in
the case of malicious intent.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.