RatnerPrestia sued German law firm Stolmár & Partner for breach of contract, fraud, and other claims. At one time, RatnerPrestia shared client ties with Stolmár & Partner and the two companies previously worked together on intellectual property issues.

When the two firms worked together, there was discussion of a merger. RatnerPrestia is an IP boutique located in the US and hoped to establish a location in Munich. Stolmár was a Munich based company and previously agreed to merge after signing a nondisclosure agreement. After several months of discussion, Stolmár delayed the combination of the firms and started to withhold documents. Stolmár continued to reassure they intended to move forward with the transaction.

Stolmár started to privately discuss a merger with a different law firm. They got cold feet and did not disclose the separate discussions. RatnerPrestia and Stolmár continued merger discussions.

Three attorneys agreed to the merger and a new location opened in Munich in 2016. One of the attorneys who agreed to the merger backed out in September of 2015. He triggered the breach of contract by violating terms of the nondisclosure and other contractual agreements. In January 2017 the two firms came to an agreement, settled, and moved to dismiss the case.

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