Property owners trying to rebuild after damage caused by Hurricane Sandy or other disasters got what could be a bad-news ruling from a New Jersey appeals court on Monday.

In a precedential decision, Motley v. Borough of Seaside Park, No. A-3214-11, the Appellate Division found a house that had been gutted to a shell to accomplish repairs was totally destroyed and so lost its status as a grandfathered nonconforming use under local zoning laws.