Appeals Court Vacates Ruling that Declared AIG Bailout Unlawful

A federal appeals court on Tuesday vacated a lower court's ruling that the 2008 federal bailout of American International Group Inc. was unlawful.

In Tuesday's ruling, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of the U.S. government. The appellate judges said Starr International Co. and the shareholders represented by Starr lacked standing to pursue the claims directly. The appellate court also said those claims belonged exclusively to AIG, which declined to participate in the lawsuit.

The case was brought in 2011 in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims by Starr, a company controlled by former AIG Chief Executive Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg. Mr. Greenberg was one of the insurer's largest shareholders before the company's bailout.

The appellate court added that it will "therefore vacate the Claims Court's judgment that the Government committed an illegal exaction and remand with instructions to dismiss the equity acquisition claims that seek direct relief."

Write to Leslie Scism at leslie.scism@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 09, 2017 11:18 ET (15:18 GMT)