Trade Fixture
A trade fixture is a type of fixture that is treated differently than standard fixtures at law. While a standard fixture becomes a fixed part of the real property for the purposes of ownership and transfer, a trade fixture is not usually treated as immovable.
Examples of trade fixtures may include signage or a display counter attached to a building for trade purposes. Trade fixtures are recognized as removable by the occupant of real property because the trade fixture is installed for the purpose of enhancing the trade and not the property. Thus, an occupant who had installed the trade fixture would be entitled to remove the trade fixture.
A black letter case concerning trade fixtures is Handler v. Horns, 2 N.J. 18 (1949). There, Henry and Augusta Horns leased a property to their son, Fred Horns. Fred Horns installed an extensive refrigeration system, compressors, machinery, ammonia tanks, and piping, all to assist in his meat processing business. The lease provided that Fred Horns could remove any trade fixtures at the end of the lease. Upon his death, a dispute arose whether all of the fixtures that Fred Horns had installed could rightfully be removed by his estate. Because the fixtures were all aimed at enhancing Fred Horns' meat business, they remained Fred Horns' personal property and were not deemed to be fixtures that attached to the real property.