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Insurer American International Group Inc. has asked a court to block Maurice “Hank” Greenberg’s efforts to sue the U.S. government on ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s behalf, saying its former CEO has not proven he should have the right to do so.

Earlier this year, ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ drew sharp criticism from members of Congress and an outraged public when the firm considered the possibility of joining Greenberg’s lawsuit, which challenges the terms of the insurer’s $182.3 billion bailout by the federal government in 2008.

ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ said Greenberg had forced its hand in even deliberating the prospect, but that ultimately it did not want to sue anyway amid a public backlash.

Absent ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s participation, Greenberg is pursuing a derivative claim, seeking to sue the U.S. government on ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s behalf over the terms of the $182.3 billion rescue. Greenberg and his company Starr International, which owned 12 percent of ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ before the rescue, are also suing the government directly.

But the insurer, in a filing dated Friday, said Starr had not met the burdens necessary to be allowed to pursue claims on the company’s behalf.

“Starr has alleged no facts showing that the ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ board’s decision to refuse Starr’s demand cannot be attributed to a rational business purpose,” ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ said.

The company said its board also feared “incalculable harm to ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s corporate brand and image and relationships with shareholders, customers, regulators and elected officials” if it pursued a lawsuit.

A lawyer for Starr, Robert Dwyer, said in a statement that ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s filing repeats the position the company’s board took in January and does not impact claims Starr is pursuing directly on behalf of ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½ shareholders.

Starr will oppose ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½’s motion in a filing later this month, Dwyer, of the law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, said. The company has until April 26 to respond in court. Last month Starr amended its complaint, more than doubling the damages it is seeking to roughly $55.5 billion.

The case is Starr International Co. Inc. vs. United States, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, No. 11-00779.

Topics Lawsuits USA ÌìÃÀÍøÕ¾´«Ã½´«Ã½