A judge ruled that the 2008 bailout and takeover of insurance giant AIG was "unduly harsh" and unconstitutional The long running suit brought by the former chairman of AIG and shareholders sought billions in damages. But while the judge ruled in their favor, he declined to award any monetary damages, saying that the company would have disintegrated without the bailout cash. The Hill: In his ruling, Judge Thomas Wheeler determined the federal government violated the Constitution by stepping in and effectively seizing the insurance company during the crisis, even if the takeover was intended to save the company from imminent bankruptcy. However, since AIG would have ceased to exist almost immediately had the government not stepped in, the judge also determined that Greenberg and the shareholders were not due the billions of dollars in damages sought. In his U.S . Court of Federal Claims opinion, Wheeler found merit in the argument that the Federal...(Read Full Post)