NEW YORK (AP) — AIG is considering Wednesday whether thecompany should join a lawsuit against the
government that spent $182billion to save it from collapse.American International GroupInc. said its board
of directors will weigh whether to take part in ashareholder lawsuit against the U.S. over the government’s
$182 billionbailout of the New York-based insurer.If AIG decides to join thecomplaint, which seeks $25
billion in damages, it would pit the companyagainst the government that in 2008 kept it from buckling under
theweight huge losses on mortgage-backed securities and other toxic assets.AIG said that after Wednesday’s
meeting, its directors should have a decision by the end of the month.StarrInternational Co. Inc., the
investment firm of former AIG CEO MauriceGreenberg, filed the lawsuit in November 2011 on behalf of the firm
andAIG shareholders.The complaint, filed in the U.S. Court ofFederal Claims and the U.S. District Court for
the Southern District ofNew York, says that the government didn’t provide shareholders faircompensation when
it took a nearly 80 percent stake in the insurer aspart of the bailout. In doing so, the government violated
theConstitution, Starr claims.AIG said that, by law, its board mustconsider three options: take over the
lawsuit and pursue the claims onits own; attempt to prevent the claims from being pursued by Starr; or,allow
Starr to continue to pursue the complaint on AIG’s behalf.Theinsurer noted that, if it decides not to let
Starr pursue its claims onthe company’s behalf, Starr would likely challenge the move. Under thatscenario,
if Starr won the case, AIG would not receive any damages orportion of a potential settlement.The Court of
Federal Claimsdenied a request by the U.S. to dismiss the lawsuit, which means thecase will go forward
regardless of AIG’s participation.Thegovernment came to the rescue of AIG in September 2008, at the depths
ofthe financial meltdown. The New York company did business with hundredsof firms around the world, and
officials feared its collapse wouldwreck the financial system.All told, AIG’s bailout was the largest of the
Wall Street rescue packages.Sincethe financial meltdown, AIG has undergone a restructuring that has cutits
size nearly in half. Its aim is to focus the company on its coreinsurance operations.In 2010, the company
spun off Asian lifeinsurer AIA Group in Hong Kong’s biggest ever initial public offering toraise $20
billion, which was used to pay bailout debt.InNovember, AIG reported a third-quarter profit of nearly $2
billionthanks to strength in its insurance operations and investment returns.In the same period a year
earlier it lost $4 billion.The TreasuryDepartment announced last month that it sold all of its
remainingshares of AIG, ending up with $22.7 billion more than it funneled to thecompany during the height
of the financial crisis.Shares of AIGended regular trading down 28 cents at $35.65. Over the last 12
months,however, the stock is up more than 50 percent.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.