SR&J Customer Care Call Centres Inc., Manitoba, Canada has filed a lawsuit against online marketplace MaritimeDirect.com Inc., New York, for breach of contract.
The lawsuit claims that MaritimeDirect, an online shopping and information site for the maritime industry, owes SR&J $265,000 for services rendered. The Web site ceased operations in February, sources said.
According to court documents, filed on April 5 with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, SR&J and Shipping and Transport entered into the agreement for SR&J to capture information via e-mail, fax and phone to populate a database owned and operated by MaritimeDirect.
The information was to be used in connection with the launch of MaritimeDirect’s Web site, which went live in July 2000. The suit claims that payments to SR&J for its services trailed off in May 2000 leaving the balance due of $265,000.
MaritimeDirect is identified in court papers as a corporate affiliate of Shipping and Transport, New York, which is also named as a defendant in the suit.
When DIRECT Newsline dialed the telephone numbers listed for MaritimeDirect and Shipping and Transport Commerce Group LLC, shareholder in MaritimeDirect, a message said the numbers had been disconnected.
“The case is moving forward and a scheduling conference has been set for early June,” said Thomas E. L. Dewey, an attorney for SR&J.
Maritimedirect also faces litigation for unpaid bills brought by Spinnaker Consulting, a recruitment services to the shore-based shipping industries, according to published reports.
The company was co-founded in 1999 by Bill Livanos and Connor O’Brien.
