Aston Martin->ke13 and Henrik Fisker->ke1074 are back in each others cross hairs. The former Aston Martin designer uncorked the latest haymaker in the form of a $100 million lawsuit, accusing his former employer of committing civil extortion. The lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. Federal District Court, claims that Aston Martin sent Fisker a “threatening letter” pertaining to the latter’s new Force 1 supercar that he planned to display at the 2016 North American International Auto Show->ke222 in Detroit.

Apparently, Aston Martin believes that the design of the Force One supercar has too many similarities to the Aston Martin DB10 even though the British luxury marque acknowledged that it wasn’t privy to the final design of the Force One. For his part, Fisker immediately took action, arguing that Aston Martin’s allegations were completely baseless because the company’s claims was based solely on a teaser image of the supercar.->ke177

Fisker’s lawyer, Jonathan A. Michaels of MLG Automotive Law, added that Aston Martin simply felt “threatened” to see its former designer return to the market to compete against the company. Michaels threw extra shade in Aston Martin’s direction, saying that the company hasn’t done anything remotely close to ground-breaking ever since the designer left the company. Fisker himself lobbed his own personal grenade in Aston Martin’s direction, claiming that the company is simply “trying to intimidate me to prop up their own flailing company and to mask their financial and product deficiencies. I refuse to be intimidated and that is the reason for today’s filing." Fighting words, indeed.

Both Henrik Fisker and MLG Automotive Law are seeking punitive damages, court costs and compensatory damages from Aston Martin at a value of not less than $100 million.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Why it matters

Aston Martin and Henrik Fisker have been at odds for quite some time now, so news of the designer’s $100 million lawsuit isn’t that surprising. Remember, the animosity between the two sides already reached a boiling point last year when the British automaker filed its own lawsuit against Fisker, accusing the designer of lifting design elements from the Aston Martin Vanquish and using it on the Thunderbolt Concept that Fisker planned to produce in limited numbers with the help of Galpin Motors. Cooler heads eventually prevailed and Aston dropped the lawsuit in exchange for assurances that Fisker would not produce the Thunderbolt. It appeared that both Aston Martin and Henrik Fisker had come to terms with one another.

Turns out, we we’re all wrong. Now, it’s Fisker’s turn as the aggrieved party and he’s demanding a king’s ransom for what he believes is dirty pool being committed by his former employer. The pot shots between the two sides have even turned personal and I’m afraid that the bridge has burned on this relationship. The two parties could kiss and make up again, but at this point, it’s hard to imagine such a scenario happening.

Personally, I’m still holding out hope that both Aston Martin and Henrik Fisker can resolve their differences. I don’t know if that’s going to happen anytime soon, but stranger things have happened in the industry. But, if Fisker and MLG Automotive Law pursue this lawsuit to its end, I’m afraid any form of goodwill between the two sides will effectively be thrown out the window.

Aston Martin DB10

Read our full review on the Aston martin DB10 here.