Mediator named in Ambac lawsuit against United States

March 21 (Reuters) - Retired federal Judge James Robertson will mediate between the bankrupt Ambac Financial Group Inc and the United States in a lawsuit over the seizure of $700 million in tax refunds meant for Ambac.

Robertson served as a judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1994 to 2010, and works with JAMS Inc, an arbitration and mediation company.

Bond insurer Ambac sued the United States last November to block the seizure of $700 million of tax refunds by the Internal Revenue Service.

The company is seeking a court order that would let it keep the refunds, and declare that it has no tax liability from 2003 to 2008.

Ambac, once the second-largest U.S. bond insurer, filed for bankruptcy on Nov. 8, 2010 after being crushed by losses on mortgage bonds.



(Reporting by Santosh Nadgir in Bangalore. Editing by Robert MacMillan) Keywords: AMBAC/ ([e-mail])(646 223 8780)(Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.