PHILADELPHIA (Dow Jones/AP) – American Home Mortgage Investment Corp.'s plan to destroy 490,000 hard-copy mortgage loan files has drawn fire from federal bankruptcy monitors, who say it could hurt homeowners' ability to sue it failed lender. The company, once one of the country's largest mortgage lenders, says it can no longer afford the $45,000-per-month rental on warehouse space to preserve hard loan files. Its bid for court permission to destroy the files has been criticized by Kelly Beaudin Stapleton, the U.S. Trustee monitoring the case. Destruction of the paper files could mean big trouble for American Home borrowers, compromising their ability to file lawsuits against the Melville, N.Y., company, Stapleton said in papers filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. American Home, which collapsed into bankruptcy in August, is selling its assets and going out of business.