Market value for damages in lieu of specific performance must be assessed by reference to the land's highest and best use, including the probability of achieving a rezoning, not merely its current zoned use. Where the element of chance lies in the nature of the thing contracted for (the land itself), the correct approach is to assess market value incorporating that chance, rather than treating it as a separate loss of commercial opportunity claim. A trial judge evaluating expert valuation evidence must not reconstruct the expert's valuation using the judge's own methodology or assumptions; the judge may prefer one expert over another but cannot arrogate the role of an independent expert.
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