N.Y. Judge Dismisses Grasso Defamation Suit

A New York state court judge Tuesday dismissed a defamation claim filed by former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso against his successor at the Big Board, John S. Reed.

The defamation claim was part of Grasso’s legal response to the excessive-compensation lawsuit brought against him by New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer. Grasso had argued that Reed, who took over the exchange after Grasso left in September 2003, defamed him in public statements in the months after Grasso’s departure.

Also Tuesday, Grasso sued H. Carl McCall, the onetime head of the exchange’s compensation committee. McCall headed the pay panel during Grasso’s last three months on the job and signed off on Grasso’s $139.5-million payout in August 2003.