MOSCOW, February 3 - RAPSI, Sergei Feklyunin. The Supreme Commercial Court has suspended the execution of a lower-court judgment awarding $565,000 to a marketing agency in its lawsuit against the Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) communications company, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com).

Subsequently, the Lotsman Management Group filed a bankruptcy petition against MTS. The court will hear the case on March 13.

The litigation stemmed from a commercial representation agreement under which Lotsman searched for prospective customers and signed subscription contracts on behalf of MTS in Moscow and the Moscow region.

The Moscow Commercial Court held against Lotsman in its 17.173 million ruble lawsuit against MTS in August 2011. However, the appeals court revoked the judgment and awarded Lotsman the claimed amount in November. The Moscow District Federal Commercial Court affirmed the decision in January.

RAPSI has yet to reach the claimant for comments.

MTS is the leading communications company in Russia. According to the latest estimates in November, the company serves over 69.68 million subscribers in Russia and up to 105.27 million including its subsidiaries in former Soviet republics.

The Lotsman Management Group is a marketing agency, according to its website.