Two groups of American International Group Inc shareholders won class-action status from a federal judge on Monday in a $25 billion lawsuit by former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg over alleged losses caused by the U.S. government's bailout of the insurer.

Two groups of American International Group Inc shareholders won class-action status from a federal judge on Monday in a $25 billion lawsuit by former Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg over alleged losses caused by the U.S. government's bailout of the insurer.

A federal judge has put American International Group Inc's dispute with a financial crisis-era bailout vehicle on hold while another court addresses the insurer's separate $10 billion lawsuit against Bank of America Corp over defective mortgages.

The number of new federal securities fraud lawsuits seeking class-action status fell to a 7-year low in 2012, according to a study by Stanford Law School and Cornerstone Research released on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court on Friday accepted appeals by law firms that once represented convicted swindler Allen Stanford and were trying to avoid lawsuits by victims seeking to recoup losses from his $7 billion Ponzi scheme. Insurance broker Willis Group Holdings was also sued over its alleged role in the fraud.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the federal government may be required to pay damages when it releases water from a dam that causes temporary flooding for a property owner downstream.

Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and the online magazine Slate on Friday won dismissal of a $60 million libel lawsuit by a former Marsh & McLennan Cos executive over a column about an insurance bid-rigging scandal.

New York's attorney general should not be allowed to derail a long-delayed $115 million settlement between American International Group Inc shareholders and the insurer's former chief executive, lawyers for the shareholders argued.