[JURIST] A New York appeals court Thursday granted the request of former New York Stock Exchange [corporate website] chairman Richard Grasso [Wikipedia profile] to delay the trial in a civil lawsuit filed by the state over the $187.5 million compensation package he received in 2003. The trial was set to begin October 16, but Grasso requested a delay in order to allow time for rulings on two pretrial appeals, both based on decisions by New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Ramos [official profile]. Grasso is appealing Ramos' refusal to throw out four of the six claims against him and his decision to hold a non-jury trial.

The lawsuit [JURIST report] was brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer [official profile] amidst allegations [JURIST report] that Grasso had too much control in setting his multi-million dollar compensation package and took advantage of personal connections with the NYSE board of directors. Bloomberg has more.