Platina Bulk Carriers would be plodding ahead in its legal dispute with Praxis Energy Agents — if only the Singaporean bulker charterer could find them.
US district court Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald on Thursday approved Platina's request to pursue alternative methods of serving Praxis companies in Texas, Singapore and Dubai after Platina found nothing but empty offices and homes in 15 attempts to serve legal papers over three months.
The lawsuit was filed in June in the US federal court for the Southern District of New York.
It accuses Praxis of negotiating the delivery of bunkers to the 56,715-dwt Oceanmaster and the 56,804-dwt Oceanbeauty (both built 2013), taking payment, then not paying the supplier, Al-Arabia Bunkering last autumn. Al-Arabia then arrested the ships and settled with Platina.
According to court filings, Platina's process server visited two Praxis offices and the home of manager Theodosios Kyriazis, all in Houston, nine times in September.
Platina said the Praxis arm in Dubai had already ceased operations when it first sued in June.
In July, the process server visited what was thought to be Praxis' main office, which had been empty for at least six months.
On 10 and 11 September, the process server visited another Praxis office, which allegedly had the lights on and bore company signage. Neither time were any employees present.
Court papers suggested there was activity in the office, as the process server reported a number of 5-gallon water bottles had changed overnight.
On one of the process servers' several trips to Kyriazis' home, he saw a yard sign had been removed though no one was home, as was the case in several other visits.
A neighbour was said to have told the process server that the home had been uninhabited for three weeks.
Buchwald's order gave Platina the ability to serve Praxis via the Texas secretary of state, anyone in Kyriazis' home after 7 pm or at the office during the day. They can also serve the company by mail at those addresses, by mail at six different accounts or through George Chalos and Birton Sparkman of Chalos & Co, who are representing Praxis in another legal dispute.
She had previously declined Platina's alternative service request, arguing the office closures could be due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Chalos declined to comment. Emails to the five addresses through which Platina can serve Praxis were not immediately answered.
Praxis' website is no longer active. A message was left with a number purportedly for Praxis.
According to the complaint, Platina had settled with Al-Arabia for more than $147,000 plus legal fees over the Oceanmaster arrest.
Figures for the Oceanbeauty arrest were not disclosed.
Both ships are owned by Greek companies and managed by Athens-based Oceanstar Management.
