hey
ok u should be able to export what ever geometry as an obj from may to max or any other app for that matter, i think Maya already comes with an obj exporter and if not then u should be able to download it from aoutodesk area, once u have done that just load it up from the plugin manager, and about the problem with verts, i think it would be esier to better answer ur question if u can upload an image of the model and the error
hop this helps