Bankruptcy

Jacksonville voters agreed to keep a local half-cent sales tax for 30 years to help pay down nearly $3 billion in city pension obligations amid a lawsuit challenging Tuesday’s referendum.

A Florida panel overseeing Opa-locka’s finances learned that the city is in default on $8.6 million in privately placed bank loans and acceleration of the debt is imminent.

Caught up in a dispute between county tax appraisers and the bankrupt owner of a nuclear power plant, a tax-supported hospital district in Glen Rose, Texas, has defaulted on its debt payment, according to a disclosure notice.

Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins’ advocacy for two Dallas-based bond firms in a $168 million issue led to accusations of interference in a process designed to avoid political influence.

Amtrak countersued the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority over $30 million for track maintenance between Boston and Rhode Island.

East Cleveland’s plan to avert bankruptcy by merging with neighbor Cleveland is back to the drawing board after terms were rejected by the Cleveland City Council.

The default of some unrated nonprofit project bonds in Michigan and subsequent struggle to recover funds highlights the frustration bondholders sometimes feel in working with trustees, who are tasked with acting as the agents of the investors in distressed and default situations.

A California appeals court's ruling upholding Marin County's pension changes is a positive development for the credit of not only the county, but also California and its other local governments, Moody's Investors Service said Thursday.

Maryland and Federal Transit Administration officials want a federal judge to restore funding for the $5.6 billion Purple Line light rail public-private partnership project that was shut down by court order in early August.

Wells Fargo Securities and Barclays Capital have agreed to pay the Rhode Island Commerce Corp. $25.6 million in a proposed settlement of a lawsuit involving a loan to former videogame company 38 Studios, the state announced Tuesday.

A criminal case alleging two Ramapo, N.Y. officials misled investors and credit rating agencies in connection with municipal bonds would go to trial on Jan. 9 under the timeline the federal judge has put forth for the proceedings.

A district court lawsuit challenging the legality of the District of Columbia’s Local Budget Autonomy Act and D.C.’s push for budget autonomy was reassigned to a new judge last month.

A California state appeals court ruling may open the window for governments to change the future benefits of existing employees.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals delayed oral arguments in Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy appeal until November, and now plans to hear the case in Montgomery, instead of Atlanta.

Lawsuits by two Florida counties challenging the $1.75 billion private activity bond award for the All Aboard Florida passenger train project can proceed, after a federal judge ruled in the counties' favor.

Puerto Rico business groups announced Wednesday that they would sue to block the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority restructuring deal.

Bondholders' poor recovery relative to pensioners in Detroit was typical of municipal bankruptcies, as protecting the workforce has outweighed debt repayment in courtrooms across the nation.

Detroit-based law firm Clark Hill is expanding its public finance reach in Michigan with the acquisition of competitor Axe & Ecklund.

An attorney in California contends that the state treasurer erred by not allowing public comment prior to rolling out an anti-pay-to-play initiative.

A two-month campaign to sell Atlantic City's former airport property to help pay down the city's massive debt burden yielded two bids that came in at a third of the minimum asking price.