Wells Fargo Insurance Services is suing Alliant Insurance Services, claiming that Alliant used confidential information from a failed merger attempt to snatch Wells employees away. Alliant, for its part, claims the Wells Fargo suit is “patently false.”

WFIS said in its suit that the two companies had negotiated with an idea of merging. As part of the negotiations, the companies agreed not to solicit certain employees for jobs for 18 months.

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However, the merger talks came to nothing – and, shortly afterward, WFIS contended, Alliant hired one of its executive vice presidents and approached a number of top WFIS producers about jobs. WFIS claimed that its top producers were targeted so specifically that Alliant had to be using confidential information from the merger talks.

Alliant said that the lawsuit was baseless and intended only to stifle competition.

“It is unfortunate that Wells Fargo views Alliant’s positive culture as a threat to its business,” the company said in a statement. “We compete fairly and lawfully for talent and are a sought-after employer. We view Wells Fargo’s suit as a baseless legal plow meant to chill fair competition, and we look forward to being vindicated in court.”