Bloomberg is reporting that Romeo Kreinberg and J. Pedro Reinhard, fired by Dow Chemical Co. for allegedly holding unauthorized merger talks, have sued the company and CEO Andrew Liveris for $675 million. The company, meantime, has filed a suit against the pair seeking to recover $50.9 million in bonuses paid to the pair.

``I am deeply saddened that I have to file a lawsuit to clear my good name and restore my reputation against a company to which I devoted 37 years of loyal service,'' Reinhard said in an e-mail statement. ``I have and will continue to categorically deny that I have been part of any secret effort to take over or acquire Dow Chemical.'' Dow's suit seeks $30.9 million from Reinhard and $20 million from Kreinberg, representing stock and cash bonuses awarded in the past three years, and an end to financial obligations to the men. The company also is seeking damages against Reinhard, 61, and Kreinberg, 56, for breach of fiduciary duties.

Kreinberg's lawyer, Stanley Arkin, told Bloomberg that "in light of the injury they did, [$675 million] was very modest." Kreinberg, who formerly headed Dow's plastics business, is suing for $400 million in defamation and $200 million for wrongful termination.

The lawsuits aren't a surprise. What will be surprise is if anyone in this group ever sees the inside of a courtroom. The question is, how mud will these guys throw before they settle?