NEW YORK_A jury has been selected for a $4.3 billion lawsuit brought by American International Group Inc. against Starr International Co., the private investment firm run by AIG's former CEO.

The jury of eight women and two men was chosen after U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff said he will allow speeches by Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the CEO who was ousted in 2005, to be heard in court as evidence.

The embattled insurer is trying to reclaim money it says was wrongly pocketed through stock sales by Greenberg. AIG claims Greenberg breached his fiduciary responsibility by misappropriating shares held in trust by Starr for AIG's deferred compensation program.

Greenberg, who runs Starr, subsequently sold a portion of the shares, claiming they were not held in a trust. Starr earned $4.3 billion on the share sale, according to published reports.

Judge Rakoff is hearing opening arguments Monday afternoon. He said witnesses will not begin testifying until Tuesday morning. The entire trial, he said, will last no longer than a month.


Rakoff ruled Monday that Starr won't be able to discuss AIG's federal bailout during the trial.

AIG is in the process of restructuring its business, shedding assets and cutting costs, after it received a loan bailout package worth up to $182.5 billion from the government. As part of the loan package, the government took a roughly 80 percent stake in the huge insurance company.

The New York-based insurer was first bailed out with an $85 billion lifeline in September just after investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, setting off one of the worst periods of the recent credit crisis. The government stepped in to rescue AIG amid worries that its collapse would further devastate the global financial industry.

Until the government bailout, between companies he runs and personal holdings, Greenberg controlled the largest stake of AIG shares.

If AIG were to prevail in the lawsuit against Greenberg, it could use the funds to repay some of its government loans.

Greenberg led AIG for nearly 40 years until he was forced to step down in 2005 over allegations of accounting irregularities. Greenberg has denied any wrongdoing.