WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Former American International Group Inc. chief Hank Greenberg should be able to depose Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as part of his lawsuit against the insurer's 2008 bailout, a federal judge ruled Monday, according to Reuters. Judge Thomas Wheeler of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims cited "extraordinary circumstances" that allow for Greenberg's attorneys to take a deposition from Bernanke. "Indeed, the court cannot fathom having to decide this multi-billion dollar claim without the testimony of such a key government decision maker," the judge ruled. Greenberg's current company, Starr International Co. Inc., filed a complaint claiming that the government took over AIG so it could provide "backdoor bailouts" to Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase and other banks.