New Jersey Statutes
N.J. Stat. § 12A:3-309 (2026)
Enforcement of lost, destroyed, or stolen instrument
✓ laws through the 2025 session (retrieved May 2026)
a. A person not in possession of an instrument is entitled to enforce the instrument if the person was in possession of the instrument and entitled to enforce it when loss of possession occurred, the loss of possession was not the result of a transfer by the person or a lawful seizure, and the person cannot reasonably obtain possession of the instrument because the instrument was destroyed, its whereabouts cannot be determined, or it is in the wrongful possession of an unknown person or a person that cannot be found or is not amenable to service of process.
b. A person seeking enforcement of an instrument under subsection a. of this section must prove the terms of the instrument and the person's right to enforce the instrument. If that proof is made, 12A:3-308 applies to the case as if the person seeking enforcement had produced the instrument. The court may not enter judgment in favor of the person seeking enforcement unless it finds that the person required to pay the instrument is adequately protected against loss that might occur by reason of a claim by another person to enforce the instrument. Adequate protection may be provided by any reasonable means.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 14
cases (4 in the last 5 years), 2010–2025 · leading case: Investors Bank v. Torres, 197 A.3d 686 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2018).
Investors Bank v. Torres, 197 A.3d 686 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to *689 properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue - and accord the statute a textualist interpretation - and by…”
Kemp v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. (In Re Kemp), 440 B.R. 624 (Bankr. D.N.J. 2010). “The third category that would enable a claimant to enforce the note would be a person not in possession of the note who is entitled to enforce the note pursuant to N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 or subsection d. of N.”
Investors Bank v. Javier Torres (082239) (Bergen Cnty. & Statewide), 233 A.3d 424 (N.J. 2020). “The trial court granted summary judgment in Investors’ favor and required Investors to provide indemnification “should another party attempt to enforce the lost note.”
Pine Investments, LLC v. Gurudev Dat Astrology & Palmistry Ctr., LLC, No. A-0070-22 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 7, 2025). “"By its plain terms, N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 governs the rights of a party that was 'entitled to enforce' a lost note or other instrument at the time that it was lost.”
Investors Bank Vs. Javier Torres, No. A-3029-16T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Nov. 16, 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue – and accord the statute a textualist interpretation – and by…”
Citimortgage, Inc. v. Garcia, 538 P.3d 89 (N.M. Ct. App. 2022). “§ 30-3-309 (West 1991); N.J. Stat. Ann. § 12A:3-309 (West 1995); N.”
Bank of Am., N.A. Vs. Pil S. Oh, No. A-2163-15T3 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Aug. 21, 2017). “Parties who can enforce such a negotiable instrument, such as a note, include "the holder of the instrument, a nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights of a holder, or a person not in possession of the instrument who is entitled to enforce the instrument…”
Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC Vs. John Jubelt, No. A-3761-15T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Nov. 17, 2017). “Parties who can enforce such a negotiable instrument, such as a note, include "the holder of the instrument, a nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights of a holder, or a person not in possession of the instrument who is entitled to enforce the instrument…”
U.S. Bank Trust, N.a. v. Konstantine Mitsel, No. A-2975-17T3 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. June 19, 2019). “12A:3-301 defines a "'[p]erson entitled to enforce' an instrument" as "the holder of the instrument, a nonholder in possession of the instrument who has the rights of a holder, or a person not in possession of the instrument who is entitled to enforce the instrument pursuant to"…”
Wilmington Sav. Fund Soc'y v. Chris Ann Jaye, No. A-4262-16T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 23, 2019). “] 12A:3-205"). Plaintiff also had standing because N.”
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Vs. Cecille Jarrett, No. A-0364-16T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. June 25, 2018). “12A:3- 301 (stating that a person may enforce a note if the person is a holder, a non-holder in possession with rights of the holder, or it is entitled to enforce pursuant to N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309, or N.J.S.A. 12A:3-418(d), even if not in possession of the instrument).”
Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Vs. John Cannarozzo, No. A-4697-18 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Apr. 8, 2021). “Wells Fargo's lost note affidavit, attesting that the note was inadvertently lost, misplaced, destroyed, pledged, transferred, or otherwise disposed of, facilitates its right to enforce the assigned mortgage under N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309. Investors Bank v. Torres, 243 N.”
N.J. Stat. § 12A:3-309(a): 4 cases
Investors Bank v. Torres, 197 A.3d 686 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to *689 properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue - and accord the statute a textualist interpretation - and by…”
Investors Bank Vs. Javier Torres, No. A-3029-16T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Nov. 16, 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue – and accord the statute a textualist interpretation – and by…”
Investors Bank v. Javier Torres (082239) (Bergen Cnty. & Statewide), 233 A.3d 424 (N.J. 2020). “The trial court granted summary judgment in Investors’ favor and required Investors to provide indemnification “should another party attempt to enforce the lost note.”
Pine Investments, LLC v. Gurudev Dat Astrology & Palmistry Ctr., LLC, No. A-0070-22 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 7, 2025). “"By its plain terms, N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 governs the rights of a party that was 'entitled to enforce' a lost note or other instrument at the time that it was lost.”
N.J. Stat. § 12A:3-309(b): 4 cases
Investors Bank v. Torres, 197 A.3d 686 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to *689 properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue - and accord the statute a textualist interpretation - and by…”
Investors Bank Vs. Javier Torres, No. A-3029-16T4 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Nov. 16, 2018). “We are unpersuaded by defendant's arguments that the motion judge: (1) misapplied the summary judgment standard; 1 (2) erred by failing to properly apply N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 when considering the lost note issue – and accord the statute a textualist interpretation – and by…”
Investors Bank v. Javier Torres (082239) (Bergen Cnty. & Statewide), 233 A.3d 424 (N.J. 2020). “The trial court granted summary judgment in Investors’ favor and required Investors to provide indemnification “should another party attempt to enforce the lost note.”
Pine Investments, LLC v. Gurudev Dat Astrology & Palmistry Ctr., LLC, No. A-0070-22 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. May 7, 2025). “"By its plain terms, N.J.S.A. 12A:3-309 governs the rights of a party that was 'entitled to enforce' a lost note or other instrument at the time that it was lost.”
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