New York’s High Court Sides With Grasso (Eliot Spitzer's legacy grows some more)

Yahoo ^ | 6/25/08 | JENNY ANDERSON

[Libloather]

New York’s High Court Sides With Grasso
Wednesday June 25, 10:35 pm ET
By JENNY ANDERSON

On Wall Street, there are stars that fade and stars that fight. Richard A. Grasso is one of the latter. On Wednesday, Mr. Grasso, the former chairman and chief executive of the New York Stock Exchange, won another round in his almost five-year battle to keep the $187.5 million of pay he amassed during his eight years at the helm of the Big Board.

The New York State Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing four of six counts originally brought by Eliot Spitzer, then New York’s attorney general, against Mr. Grasso. The decision leaves Mr. Spitzer’s successor, Andrew M. Cuomo, two claims to pursue.

Since 2004, the attorney general’s office has argued that Mr. Grasso’s pay was unreasonable under New York’s nonprofit laws and that his compensation was not properly disclosed to the exchange’s board. (The exchange became a public, profit-making corporation in 2006, after Mr. Grasso had been awarded his pay.)

But the Court of Appeals ruled that state law did not give the attorney general the authority to bring major parts of the case.

“Mr. Grasso is gratified by the court’s decision,” said Gerson A. Zweifach, one of Mr. Grasso’s lawyers along with Mark C. Zauderer. “He always had faith in the justice system.” A spokesman for the attorney general did not return calls for comment.

While the decision is certainly a win for Mr. Grasso, the war is not over. In 2006, Justice Charles E. Ramos of State Supreme Court in Manhattan ruled that Mr. Grasso had breached his fiduciary duty to keep the board informed about his pay and ordered Mr. Grasso to pay back at least $100 million.

[Old Sarge]

Rules...

[Wally_Kalbacken]

So much for Spitzer. I’d recommend to Grasso that he not settle with Monkey Boy. Fight it all the way.

[razorback-bert]

Wow, what big boats.