The doctrine that damages in a breach of contract or contract fraud case should put the injured party in the same position that they would have been in if the contract had been performed as promised or if the fraudulent representation had been true. Under the loss of bargain rule, in a case regarding fraudulent representations made during the sale of a house, the damages would be the difference between the value of the property as it actually is and the value it would have had if it had been as represented. Also see expectation damages.
[Last updated in June of 2020 by the Wex Definitions Team]