Williams v. Ubaldo

John Ubaldo (defendant) agreed to buy a house from Roger and Cynthia Williams (plaintiffs) for $450,000, with a $10,000 deposit and the balance at closing, conditioned on his obtaining financing. Ubaldo did not pay at closing even after being given extra time. The Williamses sued for specific performance and the deposit; Ubaldo sued to recover the deposit. Before trial, the Williamses sold the house to another buyer for $430,000. No appraiser testified. The trial court found Ubaldo breached and awarded $20,000 in compensatory damages (contract price minus resale price), $3,500 for property taxes, and $500 for snow-removal expenses, entering judgment of $14,000 after crediting the deposit. Ubaldo appealed.

Whether the price obtained on a later sale of real property is a proper measure of fair market value when calculating compensatory damages for breach of a sale contract.