Fair market value is the classic valuation standard: the price a hypothetical willing buyer would pay a hypothetical willing seller, neither under compulsion, both reasonably informed. It typically incorporates real-world discounts, such as a marketability discount for stock that cannot easily be sold and a minority discount for a stake that lacks control.

Fair value is a distinct statutory standard used in contexts like appraisal proceedings and some oppression buyouts. It is usually defined as the shareholder's proportionate share of the company's going-concern value, and many jurisdictions expressly bar minority and marketability discounts in that context — the theory being that a dissenting or oppressed shareholder should not be penalized twice, once by being forced out and again by a discount applied only because of that forced exit.

Which standard governs can change a valuation outcome by a large margin even when the underlying business facts are identical, since discounts alone can swing value substantially. Juricratic keeps the valuation methodology and the discount policy as separate, explicit dials in a matter's damages model, so a user can isolate how much of a projected recovery range comes from the underlying business performance and how much comes purely from which legal standard applies.

Which standard applies is often litigated before the valuation fight even starts, because it determines whether discounts are on the table at all. Valuation experts on both sides build their models around whichever standard governs, and counsel frequently fights over the standard itself first, since it can move the ultimate number as much as any factual dispute about the business.