Bankruptcy

DALLAS — A court case that threatens plans for the first nuclear power project in more than three decades headed for trial after a Texas district judge in San Antonio ruled that the lawsuit by the city’s CPS Energy utility could go forward.

CHICAGO — Menasha, Wis., must turn over public records related to the operations of its now-shuttered steam utility plant to an investor who holds $2 million of the city’s $23 million of defaulted bond anticipation notes issued for the plant, a judge ordered yesterday.

WASHINGTON — The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board today will begin soliciting a broad range of nominees to serve on its board amid signs that Congress is likely to soon require the self-regulator to alter its composition so that a majority of its 15 members are “public” officials.

SAN FRANCISCO — The California Supreme Court Monday tossed out felony charges against five of the six San Diego officials charged with violating state conflict-of-interest laws in connection with decisions they made that led to underfunding of the city employee pension fund.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Lawyers for ousted Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Larry Langford say the former Jefferson County commissioner who spearheaded the ill-fated refinancing of the county’s $3.2 billion of sewer debt will appeal his conviction on 60 federal charges.

Three current and former executives of CDR Financial Products will stand trial next February for their alleged use of rigged bids and deception to rip off state and local governments.

WASHINGTON — Municipal securities dealers, their finance professionals, and political action committees will have to disclose most contributions they make to bond ballot election campaigns under Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board rule changes the Securities and Exchange Commission approved Wednesday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Birmingham, Ala., welcomes new Mayor William Bell to office on Tuesday, which leaves a vacancy on the Jefferson County Commission as it continues to cope with $3.2 billion of troubled sewer debt.

WASHINGTON — Market participants worried yesterday that the Obama administration’s plan to limit the size and certain trading activities of banks could adversely affect firms’ tender option bond programs, which provide money market funds with safe municipal investments.

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court’s ruling allowing corporations to use their own funds for ads to support or oppose candidates does not appear to have implications for the Municipal ­Securities Rulemaking Board’s Rule G-37, which ­restricts municipal dealers’ political ­contributions to issuer officials, lawyers said.

WASHINGTON — A Wells Fargo & Co. shareholder has filed suit against 13 top officials at the bank, alleging they committed a breach of fiduciary duty, abuse of control, and gross mismanagement by permitting the bank to continue to participate in sale-in, lease-out transactions after the federal government warned they were illegitimate tax shelters.

WASHINGTON — In a new challenge to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement jurisdiction over certain swaps, attorneys for two former JPMorgan bankers that secured swap transactions for the firm with Jefferson County, Ala., are urging a federal judge to throw out most of the securities fraud charges the SEC filed against them in November.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Alabama federal judge Scott Coogler Tuesday denied former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford’s motion for a new trial.

West Virginia’s pension system reported last week its unfunded liabilities jumped by about $2 billion, or 41%, in fiscal 2009. The Consolidated Public Retirement Board said obligations to retirees in the state’s seven pension funds increased to $7 billion for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Miami commissioners late last week approved the sale of $92 million of bonds to build parking facilities for the Florida Marlins’ new baseball stadium, which is under construction.

CHICAGO — Repayment of about $46 million of taxable tribal gaming revenue bonds from a $50 million issue on behalf of the Lac du Flambeau tribe in Wisconsin remains in question as investors decide their next move, following a federal judge’s dismissal of their case seeking to enforce their bond indenture rights.

WASHINGTON — The Nebraska Supreme Court last week dismissed a lawsuit brought by Falls City against the Nebraska Municipal Power Pool and three of its staff members.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. fined Southwest Securities Inc. $54,500 and ordered it to pay $23,394 to customers for municipal securities trade reporting and pricing violations as well as non-muni violations. FINRA also fined San-Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. $25,000 for muni trade reporting violations.

WASHINGTON — More than $200 million of toll revenue bonds issued by the Connector 2000 Association Inc. for a 16-mile toll road in Greenville County, S.C., defaulted on Jan. 1, in what sources said is the first public-private partnership default in the state.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Las Vegas Monorail Co., which has more than $600 million of municipal bonds outstanding, sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.