Law and legal issues

The Puerto Rico Oversight Board extended the stay on debt-related litigation to May 1 and the deadline for the governor to submit a 10-year fiscal plan to Feb. 28.

Former Harrisburg, Pa., Mayor Steve Reed received two years of supervised probation after pleading guilty to 20 counts of receiving stolen property.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner attacked and vowed to fight Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s attempt to block state payroll amid the 18-month-old budget impasse.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and three defendants allegedly involved in a pay-to-play scheme to steer billions of dollars of business from a New York pension fund to certain firms have agreed to ask a federal court to stay the civil case resulting from the charges while two criminal cases moves forward.

Gainesville Hospital District in North Texas is reorganizing under Chapter 9 bankruptcy with $19.7 million of general obligation bonds insured by Ambac.

In oral arguments on Jefferson County, Ala.’s bankruptcy plan last month, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals expressed concern that ratepayers challenging the plan did not request a stay before bonds were sold.

Illinois' latest stab at pension reform is unconstitutional and will face a court challenge if it becomes law, a union lawyer warned lawmakers Tuesday.

A Northern California healthcare district that closed its only hospital with $57 million of certificates of participation outstanding is sorting out its obligations in bankruptcy court.

After R.J. Reynolds sold four cigarette brands to ITG Brands, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi sued the companies saying they have refused to comply with terms of the state’s 1997 tobacco settlement deal.

Stephen Reed, Harrisburg, Pa., mayor from 1982 to 2009, pleaded guilty to stealing city-purchased artifacts.

A federal court handed a victory to holders of Puerto Rico Employment Retirement System bonds Tuesday, one of bondholders’ first legal victories since Puerto Rico started defaulting about a year ago.

With a privately owned passenger train service just months away from starting up in south Florida, opponents told a federal judge it would be inequitable to dismiss their lawsuits because of a “backroom” deal involving public financing for the project.

The California Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal from a group opposing the construction of a new basketball arena in San Francisco.

Capital Hartford is veering out of control toward bankruptcy and needs help from a state already wobbly, said a Manhattan Institute report on Connecticut’s poorest cities.

A five-year-old Illinois law that safeguards not-for-profit hospitals’ local tax exemptions in exchange for meeting minimum charity and community care standards is before the Illinois Supreme Court.

So-called intervention bankruptcy – combining federal and state resources – could help governments manage municipal insolvency, said a Manhattan Institute report.

A federal judge denied a request by two Florida counties for additional documents about public financing for the All Aboard Florida private passenger train project, moving their lawsuits closer to a ruling on dismissal.

A second state appeals court decision in California that rejects a rigid interpretation of the so-called “California Rule” of vested rights has boosted the hopes of those who want to change public pension formulas in the Golden State.

The Campaign Legal Center is trying to convince a federal court overseeing a challenge brought by Republican groups that the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s rule changes to prevent municipal advisors from engaging in pay-to-play practices are legal and needed to address the potential for corruption in the municipal market.

Afflicted with a pension crisis that has lowered credit ratings, the Dallas City Council informally agreed to postpone an $800 million bond election that had been expected in May.