Judge Certifies Stockholders’ Class Action Against AIG

A U.S. judge on Monday certified a class action lawsuit for stockholders, but not bondholders, against American International Group Inc.

U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts denied a request by three Ohio state public pension funds to certify the class of bondholders against the giant insurer.

The lawsuit filed in 2004 against AIG, former chairman and CEO Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, outside auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and several other corporate and individual defendants contends that false statements were made about the insurance giant’s financial assets.

Greenberg and another defendant, General Re, already settled the claims.

The lawsuit claims AIG made “numerous and repeated material omissions and mistatements, including AIG’s quarterly and annual financial statements” from October 28, 1999 to April 1, 2005.

“Although we continue to believe that no class should be certified, we are pleased that the court refused to certify any bondholder claims and significantly limited the equityholder claims,” AIG said in a statement.

It said the firm, which was bailed out by the U.S. government in the wake of the financial meltdown, had already paid $800 million to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission fund to compensate investors, including those that are part of the alleged class in this lawsuit.

The case is In Re: American International Group Inc. Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 04-8141

(Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)