Also known as: actual values · market value · real value
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The price that property would bring in an open market between a willing buyer and a willing seller, neither under compulsion to transact and both having reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
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Tenant Arthur Abrams notifies landlord Astra Aerospace that a material breach allows termination. Arthur vacates the premises on the permitted date. The court measures Arthur's damages by determining the actual value of the remaining lease term on the termination date.
After appointment, personal representative Abigail Alvarez prepares the required inventory of decedent Adam Anderson's assets. For each item she lists its actual value as of the date of death together with any encumbrances.
Buyer Alexandra Armstrong purchases a new vehicle from BMW of North America. After discovering undisclosed prior damage and repainting, the court assesses the reduction in the car's actual value to determine compensatory damages.
Environmental group Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. litigates against Wilderness Society. When fees are considered, the court looks to the actual value of the legal services rendered rather than a mechanical formula.
Performer Zacchini sues Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. for televising his entire human-cannonball act. The court measures damages by the actual value of the exclusive performance rights that were appropriated.
Civil rights plaintiffs prevail in Hensley v. Eckerhart. When calculating the lodestar, the court begins with the actual value of the hours reasonably expended at prevailing market rates.
Actual value is defined as fair market value. Courts and statutes use the two phrases interchangeably to describe the price a willing buyer would pay a willing seller.
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When personal property has no established market or the market price does not reflect its worth to the owner, courts permit recovery of actual value instead of fair market value.
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No. A foreclosure sale price that is below actual value does not by itself invalidate the sale unless the price is grossly inadequate.
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…assume, as the juries in this case and in the Yates case found, that the undisclosed damage to the new BMW's affected their actual value. Notwithstanding the evidence adduced by BMW in an effort to prove that the repainted cars conformed to the same quality standards as its other cars, we also assume that it knew, or should…