Selman v. Shirley
Oregon Supreme Court
91 P.2d 312 (1939)
The Selmans (plaintiffs) bought 160 acres from the Shirleys (defendants) for $2,000 after being told the land held 4,000 cords of merchantable firewood, when it actually held only 200 cords; after the Selmans missed a payment and the Shirleys sued to eject them, the Selmans countersued for fraud based on the firewood misrepresentation. The trial court found the land's market value was exactly $2,000 (what the Selmans paid) and dismissed the claim for lack of damages, but the Oregon Supreme Court instead awarded benefit-of-the-bargain damages, and the Shirleys petitioned for rehearing.
Whether, if a seller fraudulently misrepresents the quantity, quality, price, or title of the item being sold, the measure of damages is the difference in value between that which is actual and that which was represented to exist.