The one company that will forever be linked to the financial meltdown in the final years of the last decade is AIG (or American International Group, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing), which was bailed out and then effectively taken over by the U.S. government. Now a company led by AIG’s former CEO has filed suit against the feds, alleging that said takeover was unconstitutional.

The lawsuit claims the government violated shareholders’ Fifth Amendment rights by taking their private property (i.e., their shares) for public use without providing just compensation. Thus, the plaintiffs seek $25 billion for former CEO Hank Greenberg’s Starr International and other shareholders.

It is worth noting that it was under Mr. Greenberg’s direction that AIG’s antics earned the company the Golden Poo for Worst Company In America 2009.

U.S. sued for $25 billion over AIG takeover [Chicago Tribune]

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