[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

AIG will not join the lawsuit commenced by its former CEO and chairman, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, and sue the Government.  After the meeting, which lasted all morning, the board voted unanimously to steer clear of the case. It also decided to ask Mr. Greenberg to forgo legal claims in the company's name. "The board's decision today was about continuing to move this company forward, not backward," Robert H. Benmosche, A.I.G.'s chief executive and a director, wrote in an internal memorandum to employees. "We as a company have kept our promise to return every dollar America invested in us, plus a substantial profit."

The decision became the focus of national attention after the NY Times reported on Monday that board was contemplating whether to join a $25 billion lawsuit filed by its former chief executive, Maurice R. Greenberg, on behalf of fellow shareholders.  That case argues that shareholders lost tens of billions of dollars when the government attached onerous terms to the bailout. Lawmakers and others had pilloried the company, saying that joining a lawsuit against its rescuers would make it "the poster company for corporate ingratitude and chutzpah."

The board's decision was the truest form of theater.  On Wednesday, the board of the insurance company gathered at its headquarters in Lower Manhattan to listen to presentations from Mr. Greenberg and the government. Senior officials from the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the defendants in the lawsuit, were accompanied by lawyers from Davis Polk & Wardwell and Debevoise & Plimpton.  A timekeeper was on hand to ensure that each side stayed within the agreed limits: about 45 minutes for Mr. Greenberg and 30 minutes for each government agency, followed by a few minutes for rebuttals.

After the meeting, which lasted all morning, the board voted unanimously to steer clear of the case. It also decided to ask Mr. Greenberg to forgo legal claims in the company's name.