U.S. Sends Grasso Pay Case Back to State Court
A lawsuit against former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso over his $187.5-million pay package has been sent back to state court after a federal judge ruled that it should not be heard in federal court.
U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch in New York said the case was best suited for state court because New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer filed the lawsuit claiming violations of state law.
Spitzer is seeking to take back at least $100 million from Grasso and $18 million in damages from former NYSE board member Kenneth Langone.
Grasso had asserted that because the NYSE was regulated by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, he could be sued only in federal court.
However, Lynch wrote that there were no federal statutes in question in Spitzer’s suit.
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