Plaintiff the Township of Springfield appealed from a Law Division order reducing a fine imposed by a municipal court on defendant Springfield Urban Renewal Center Corp., following its conviction for violating an ordinance. The ordinance required a certain type of safety fencing for construction sites and imposed a $250 per day fine for each day the fencing was not installed. The municipal court found defendant guilty and imposed a fine with costs totaling $67,533. The Law Division affirmed the guilty finding but concluded N.J.S.A. 40:49-5 limited the total fine that could be imposed to $2,000.
On appeal, the court reversed and held N.J.S.A. 40:49-5 limits the amount of a single fine to $2,000 but contains no language barring the imposition of per day fines that cumulatively exceed $2,000. The court concluded its holding was supported by the plain language of the statute and Township of Pennsauken v. Schad, 160 N.J. 156 (1999). The Law Division's reliance upon Perrine Terrace Land Co. v. Brennan, 101 N.J.L. 487 (Sup. Ct. 1925) was inapposite because it was decided on different grounds. Furthermore, although the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Perrine, the decision pre-dated the 1947 Constitution when that court was not the highest court in the State. Therefore, Perrine does not have the same binding authority as Schad. The court reversed and remanded for resentencing.