By David Thomas

July 17 (Reuters) - A vision-wear company has filed a legal malpractice lawsuit against law firm Ashurst Perkins Coie, seeking $50 million in damages over allegations that the firm failed to conduct due diligence on a deal to sell a large stake in the business.

In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Texas state court, Lensabl said the law firm failed to take steps to verify whether Robert Byrnes and his companies had funds to consummate their agreement to acquire a 49% interest in the company for $29 million. Byrnes and his companies could not deliver an initial $4.3 million payment, according to the lawsuit.

Lensabl said it wasted its time and money on the failed deal, resulting in a "distressed asset sale" to Visibly, an eye care-oriented healthcare technology company, in 2024.

The allegations concern work performed for Lensabl by Perkins Coie, which merged with London-based Ashurst last month to create a 3,000-lawyer firm. Lensabl named Perkins Coie, Ashurst and Ashurst Perkins Coie as defendants.

The lawsuit claims Perkins Coie failed to undertake basic tasks that would be expected even for a home or car sale, such as requesting bank statements from Lensabl's would-be buyers and securing a lender commitment.

"The question Perkins Coie failed to ask before Lensabl signed the transaction documents remains the question at the center of this lawsuit: where was the money?" Lensabl wrote in its lawsuit.

Andrew Cobos, a Houston-based attorney representing Lensabl, said in an email that Perkins Coie "failed Lensabl in a manner that was easily avoidable."

A spokesperson for Ashurst Perkins Coie did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company is seeking more than $50 million in monetary relief from Perkins Coie, which charged Lensabl more than $400,000 in fees during the transaction.

Lensabl also filed a separate lawsuit against Byrnes, his businesses and other individuals who were involved in the transaction in Texas Business Court last year. A Texas Business Court judge dismissed some of Lensabl's claims in November. Attorneys for Byrnes and the other defendants in that case declined to comment.