Selman v. Shirley

91 P.2d 312 (1939)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Selman (P) entered into a contract for $2,000 to purchase a 160-acre ranch from Shirley (D). Payments were to be made as follows: $500 in execution of the contract, $200 before October 1, 1934, and $200 per year annually thereafter until the purchase price was paid. P paid $550 upon execution of the contract and took possession and paid $200 on October 1, 1934, but failed to make the next year’s payment. D commenced an action in ejectment. P then sued for fraud and deceit. P claims that he was induced to buy the land based on the premise that it had at least 4,000 cords of fire wood and that there was at least enough water to irrigate 10 acres even in the driest season and that there was sufficient gravel adjacent to the road leading to the premises from the highway sufficient to gravel the road and that the gravel belonged to the County. P alleges that there was not enough wood on the property, that there was barely enough water to irrigate 1/8^th of an acre and that the gravel was not owned by the County and was not available for graveling the road. P inspected the premises before entering into the contract but claims he was a stranger to the area and had no idea how to judge timber and that he relied upon the representations made to him by D. The trial court found that D knowingly and falsely represented the amount of wood on the land with the intent to induce P to purchase and P relied upon that representation to purchase. The court also found that the fair market value of the land was, in fact, $2,000, so P suffered no damages. The suit was dismissed. P appealed. On appeal, the majority held that P was entitled to recover damages based on the benefit of the bargain rule. D petitioned for a rehearing.