The AIG Bonus Debacle

AIG has been in the news for over a year now for its fiasco involving the payment of bonuses to employees from government-loaned bailout funds.  Just last week, AIG was back in the news, seeking to pay additional bonuses.  The "pay czar," Ken Fienberg (the former head of the 9/11 compensation fund) is also trying to find ways to stop AIG's payments — with no success.  It appears AIG has found a huge loophole: bonuses paid pursuant to contracts entered into prior to fall 2009 (the date of the bailout legislation) are exempt from limitation.  Thus, lawmakers are once again searching for ways to recoup the money.  In a recent essay, I suggest that the law of restitution provides several options for seeking the return of unjust gains.  To read it, go to http://lawreview.wustl.edu/slip-opinions/bailouts-bonuses-and-the-return-of-unjust-gains/