for the settlement and after repeated calls to USF&G had learned that it had been sent to Jay Goran. He left numerous messages for Goran, but Goran never returned his calls. Neither USF&G nor Goran ever requested that he have the plaintiffs endorse the draft, and he was never informed that a second draft had been issued.
On September 8, 1972, the plaintiffs filed a second amended complaint. This was identical to the first one, except that it sought punitive, as well as general damages. Both Goran and USF&G filed answers. On November 2, 1972, the affidavit of Esther Rothstein was filed, attached to which were copies of the proof of loss executed by the plaintiffs, the policy of insurance issued by USF&G and the ledger sheets reflecting the7.)
In the present case, the following facts are uncontroverted: The plaintiffs entered into an installment contract to purchase a building from Jay Goran. The agreement required that the plaintiffs carry fire insurance to insure the interest of the seller in the unpaid balance. By mutual agreement, Goran obtained the insurance and deducted the cost from the plaintiffs' monthly payments. In 1965 Goran obtained a fire insurance policy on the premises in the amount of $13,000 from USF&G in which he was the named insured and in which the interests of the plaintiffs and the mortgagee were insured to the extent that they should appear, the interest of the plaintiffs being subordinate to that of the mortgagee.
On April 26, 1967, the building was damaged by a fire of undetermined