Ex-NYSE Pay Chief Seeks Dismissal of Suit

Investment banker Ken Langone, former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange’s compensation committee, filed a motion Thursday to dismiss New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer’s May lawsuit against him.

The eight-page motion, filed in U.S. District Court, contends that Spitzer provided no evidence that Langone, 68, misled other exchange directors into approving the pay of Richard Grasso, the 57-year-old former NYSE chairman. Spitzer’s suit alleged that Langone breached his fiduciary duty and demanded he return some of the $190 million Grasso received in eight years in the top job.

“The fact is that Mr. Langone and the rest of the board made informed decisions based on what Mr. Grasso was worth, period,” Langone spokesman Jim McCarthy said in a statement.