Court dismisses 4 claims against Grasso

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York appeals court handed Richard Grasso a victory on Tuesday, dismissing four of six claims against him in the state's effort to get the former New York Stock Exchange (NYX.N) chairman to return more than $100 million in compensation.

The appeals court in Manhattan, in a 3-to-2 decision, concluded that the four dismissed claims against Grasso were "not within the scope" of the New York attorney general to bring.

"We conclude that the attorney general does not have the authority to assert the first, fourth, fifth and sixth causes of action," the court said in the ruling.

Grasso, who ran the world's largest stock exchange for eight years, was forced out in 2003 following a public outcry over his $187.5 million compensation package.

He was sued in 2004 by then-Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who charged the package was excessive and violated state law. The office of the state's new attorney general, Andrew Cuomo, said earlier this year it would continue to pursue the lawsuit against Grasso.

Grasso ran the Big Board when it was a member-owned institution. The exchange is now a publicly traded, for-profit company -- NYSE Group Inc.

Tuesday's decision could be appealed to the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals.

A lawyer for Grasso was not immediately available for comment, nor was a representative from the attorney general's office.