Fresh from paying back a $182 billion bailout, the board of American International Group Inc. will meet tomorrow to consider joining a $25 billion shareholder lawsuit against the government, the New York Times DealBook blog reported today. The lawsuit contends that the onerous nature of the rescue - the taking of what became a 92 percent stake in the company, the deal's high interest rates and the funneling of billions to the insurer's Wall Street clients - deprived shareholders of tens of billions of dollars and violated the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits the taking of private property for "public use, without just compensation." Maurice R. Greenberg, AIG's former chief executive, who remains a major investor in the company, filed the lawsuit in 2011 on behalf of fellow shareholders. He has since urged AIG to join the case, a move that could nudge the government into settlement talks.
