MOSCOW, June 21 – RAPSI. The Supreme Commercial Court has rejected Novolipetsk Metal Corporation’s (NLMK) appeal for the court's presidium to review its lawsuit against former Maxi-Group executives Nikolai Maximov and Alexander Loginovskikh.

The Moscow Commercial Court rejected the lawsuit last May. However, NLMK and Maxi-Group, acting as a third party, contested the decision. In February, the Moscow District Federal Commercial Court upheld the judgment.

The lawsuit stems from an agreement between Maxi-Group and Alfa-Bank, which is also involved in the litigation as a third party. According to the agreement, the bank consulted Maximov on the sale of Maxi-Group shares.

The plaintiff claimed that Loginovskikh and Maximov paid for the services using Maxi-Group funds, while the consultations were provided to Maximov as an individual. Therefore, the defendants caused material losses to Maxi-Group.

The defendants argued that the services were rendered to Maximov in his capacity as Maxi-Group president and inflicted no losses. They added that NLMK was not among the company’s shareholders when it entered into the contract with Alfa-Bank, and hence the lawsuit is unfounded.

NLMK is one of the world's largest steel producers. In December 2007, it acquired a 50-percent plus one share stake in Maxi-Group, which comprised several businesses.