NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - More than a year after filing for bankruptcy protection, NorthPoint Communications Group may finally get revenge on one-time suitor Verizon Communications for terminating its acquisition agreement, leading to NorthPoint's collapse.

The two firms are set to go to trial later this month to determine whether Verizon wrongly pulled out of its merger nearly two years ago.

"The employees and shareholders of NorthPoint are looking for their day in court to show they were mistreated and show that their merger should've gone through," said attorney Michael Kahn of Folger Levin and Kahn, who represents the NorthPoint trustee. "This is their opportunity to show that their misfortune was not their fault."

NorthPoint claims that Verizon wrongly terminated its August 2001 pact to acquire a 55 percent stake, in the DSL firm for $800 million. NorthPoint alleges that Verizon's decision to opt out of the agreement was based on negative reaction to the deal from Wall Street and was without legal or factual basis under their agreement.

Before its collapse, NorthPoint sold high-speed DSL Internet connections to about 100,000 businesses and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). New York-based Verizon (VZ: Research, Estimates) is the nation's No. 1 regional phone company.

Verizon is sticking with its explanation and claims it ended the deal because of NorthPoint's deteriorating financial, business and operating conditions.

"We made the decision to terminate the agreement on a material adverse change clause," Verizon spokesman Peter Thonis said. "It was because of the ongoing deterioration of their business."

The two companies agreed to the pact in August 2001. Verizon also agreed to merge its own DSL business with NorthPoint's. But on Nov. 20 of that year, NorthPoint announced that it was revising its fiscal third-quarter results downward because of deteriorating revenue, an eroding customer base and material increases in net loss. Nine days later Verizon pulled out.

Without the funds, San Francisco-based NorthPoint struggled to survive and filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2001. AT&T Corp. (T: Research, Estimates) then swooped in and paid $135 million for nearly all of NorthPoint's assets.

The trial is slated to begin July 29 in state superior court in San Francisco.