Indianapolis – Circa September 2016: Dr Pepper Snapple Group Bottling Plant.

The latest challenge to Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.'s merger with Keurig Green Mountain Inc. this week accused the Dr Pepper Snapple board of trying to deprive shareholders of their appraisal rights under Delaware law.

A proposed class action, filed Wednesday in the Delaware Court of Chancery, said the Dr Pepper Snapple directors breached their fiduciary duties by giving investors no notice of their appraisal rights, and had manipulated the deal to block dissenting investors from pursuing litigation to determine the fair value of their shares.

“The deal has been structured in a way only a contortionist can appreciate, in order to deny stockholders their rights,” plaintiffs counsel from Grant & Eisenhofer wrote in a 19-page complaint. “If permitted to get away with it here, others will surely follow, further harming the avenues available for stockholders of Delaware companies to protect their interests.”