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Jones v. Lee | 971 P.2d 858 (1998)

When a buyer of real estate breaches a contract for the sale of land, the seller may accept the buyer’s deposit as the seller’s exclusive remedy, or sue the buyer for damages. The generally accepted measure of the seller’s damages is the difference between the purchase price and fair market value of the property at the time of breach. In the 1998 case Jones versus Lee, the New Mexico Court of Appeals considered whether a seller, in addition to general, or compensatory, damages, could also recover special, or consequential, damages as a result of a buyer’s breach.

On June 25th, 1994, Ihn and Philomena Lee entered into a written contract to buy Sam and Sharon Jones’s house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for $610,000. However, several weeks after tendering $6,000 for a deposit toward the purchase, the Lees informed the Joneses that they wouldn’t be able to complete the contract due to financial reasons.

On August 23rd, 1994, the Lees offered to forfeit the $6,000 deposit if the Joneses agreed to void the contract. The Joneses rejected the Lees’ offer and relisted the property for sale. In November 1994, the Joneses found a new buyer who agreed to purchase the house for $540,000, which was $70,000 below the Lees’ contract price. At the time, the Joneses were also planning on building a new home on a lot they acquired in 1992. The Joneses spent money on architectural fees for construction of the new home. But the Lees were unaware of the Joneses’ plans to build.

Subsequently, the Joneses sued the Lees in district court for breach of contract. Following a bench trial, the court entered judgment for the Joneses, awarding them $70,000 in general damages. Additionally, the court awarded the Joneses nearly $43,000 in special damages, including money for fees they incurred in building their new home, $33,000 in punitive damages, and $11,000 in costs and prejudgment interest. The total amount of damages was approximately $157,000, plus court costs. The Lees then appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

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