By Meredith Kotler, Mark McDonald and Vanessa Richardson ( August 11, 2017, 1:12 PM EDT) -- Appraisal is no longer the "sleepy topic" it once was.[1] In the space of less than two weeks, the Delaware courts issued two landmark appraisal decisions, one effectively putting a judicial thumb on the scale in favor of deferring to deal price in arm's-length mergers, and the other finding fair value (calculated exclusive of anticipated synergies) to be less than half the deal price. When combined with recent statutory changes, including allowing for prepayment in order to cut off the accrual of interest,[2] these decisions likely will dampen "appraisal arbitrage" activities going forward. But the Delaware courts are not done: we also expect more important decisions to come further exploring these and other issues before the law settles in this area....