MOSCOW, May 10 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court has registered Maxi-Group's $46.8 million lawsuit against its founder Nikolai Maximov, the court told the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI).

The preliminary hearing date has yet to be scheduled. RAPSI has yet to obtain comments from the parties.

In December 2007, the Novolipetsk Iron & Steel Corporation (NLMK) acquired a 50 percent plus one share in the Maxi-Group, which integrated companies ranging from scrap processing to steel production. The acquisition was based on an agreement that did not stipulate the fixed price of the stake.

The final calculation was postponed until the completion of a financial and legal inspection of Maxi-Group's companies. Maximov was granted an advance payment worth about 7.3 billion rubles ($245 million).

Eventually, disagreements between the parties as to the transaction amount led to legal disputes.