Midland Lumber & Supply, Inc. v. J.P. Builders
Midland Lumber & Supply, Inc. v. J.P. Builders
Opinion of the Court
This is the return day of a motion brought by the defendant, United Jersey Bank (“Bank”) to dismiss plaintiffs complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, or in the alternative, for summary judgment. The motion raises the issue of whether a subordinate lien holder named as a loss payee in a fire insurance policy is entitled to the insurance proceeds in preference to the holder of a superior lien on the encumbered real estate.
Briefly the relevant and undisputed facts are as follows. Jon and Rosalie Ferrari owned real property located at 825 Lamington Road, Bedminster, Somerset County, New Jersey. They entered into a contract with defendants, J.P. Builders and J.K. Piscano, to construct a house on that property. The plaintiff, Midland Lumber and Supply Co., (“Midland”) is in the business of furnishing building supplies and construction materials and furnished such supplies and materials for the construction of the home being built for the Ferraris. However, before furnishing any supplies or materials Midland filed a Mechanic’s Notice of Intention with the Somerset County Clerk. The Mechanic’s Notice of Intention was filed on November 20, 1991, served on the Ferraris via certified mail on November 22, 1991, and in November 1992, within four months after furnishing last materials, Midland filed a Mechanic’s Lien Claim. Midland contends that it fully complied with the Mechanic’s Lien Law, N.J.S.A. 2A:44-64 to -124, and the Bank does not dispute that' contention.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:44-88 and W.Jr.S'.A2A:44-89 a construction mortgage may have priority over a preexisting mechanic’s lien in certain circumstances. In this case, however, the Bank admits that none of those circumstances is applicable and that the mechanic’s lien had priority over the construction mortgage. Nevertheless, the Bank argues, and this court agrees, that the Bank is entitled to the fire insurance proceeds. This court’s reasoning is as follows.
A contract of fire insurance is personal to the insured and does not run with the insured property. See 495 Corp. v. New Jersey Ins. Underwriting Ass’n., 86 N.J. 159, 163, 430 A.2d 203 (1981). Therefore, the holder of a lien on the insured property is not entitled to fire insurance proceeds simply because of its lien. Newark v. Central & Lafayette Realty Co., 150 N.J.Super. 18, 23, 374 A.2d 504 (App.Div.) certif. denied 75 N.J. 528, 384 A.2d 508 (1977); In re Cecire, 9 N.J.Misc. 977, 156 A 418 (Essex County Orphan’s Ct. 1931). A mortgagee does, however, have an insurable interest in the mortgaged property and it is common for mortgage agreements to contain clauses requiring the mortgagor to obtain casualty insurance on the property payable to the mortgagee. See
Therefore, even giving plaintiffs pleading the deferential treatment to which it is entitled pursuant to Printing Mart v. Sharp Electronics, 116 N.J. 739, 771-72, 563 A.2d 31 (1989), it is clear that plaintiffs complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Accordingly, defendant’s motion is granted.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.