A $90 million settlement in shareholder derivative litigation brought by Robbins Umeda LLP* and other firms on behalf of American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG) became final today, April 14, 2011.
AIG shareholders alleged in this litigation that certain current and former officers, directors, and employees of the company breached their fiduciary duties in connection with a bid-rigging scheme with Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., sham reinsurance transactions with General Re Corporation, and other activities intended to falsify AIG’s financial results, subjecting the company to substantial liability and fines.
Robbins Umeda LLP served as lead counsel in the consolidated federal action, as appointed by the Honorable Laura Taylor Swain of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Robbins Umeda LLP litigated aggressively to protect the company from making unnecessary payments to the defendant AIG directors and officers who allegedly harmed the company. In response to the allegations made and the actions taken by the plaintiffs, AIG formed a special litigation committee to investigate the alleged wrongdoing by company insiders.
Represented by Robbins Umeda LLP and other law firms in the consolidated derivative litigation, the shareholder plaintiffs ultimately settled the cases for consideration including a $90 million payment to AIG, a settlement approved by the Delaware Chancery Court in December 2010.
“We fought hard alongside our colleagues to protect the rights of AIG shareholders and to secure what we thought was a just settlement,” said Brian Robbins, managing partner at Robbins Umeda LLP.
On March 13, 2011, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the federal action, thereby satisfying the terms of the settlement agreement.
The case is American International Group, Inc. Consolidated Derivative Litigation, No. 769-VCS in the Delaware Chancery Court.
* The firm name changed from Robbins Umeda LLP to Robbins LLP on January 1, 2013.
