American International Group Inc. shareholders can sue the U.S. as a group in a lawsuit brought by former Chief Executive Officer Maurice "Hank" Greenberg over losses caused by the government takeover of the insurer, a judge ruled, saying that the case may affect tens of thousands of people, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. U.S. Claims Judge Thomas Wheeler yesterday granted a request by Greenberg's Starr International Co. to certify two classes of AIG investors in the suit. The judge also appointed David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP as lead counsel for the groups. Starr International Co. sued the government in 2011 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C., calling the public assumption of almost 80 percent of AIG stock in September 2008 a seizure of property in violation of the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment right to just compensation. The lawsuit seeks at least $25 billion in damages.
