Law and legal issues

The city of Miami will consider paying $1 million, as recommended by City Attorney Victoria Mendez, to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission’s lawsuit.

Charlotte, N.C., will buck a recent trend and keep embattled Wells Fargo Securities on its sale of up to $150 million of general obligation bonds, saying the investment bank has served the city well.

A Kentucky Supreme Court ruling that Gov. Matt Bevin does not have authority to withhold university funds is a credit negative, Moody's Investors Service said, because it will be harder to manage difficult budgets without help from lawmakers.

Peter Cannava is fighting the Securities and Exchange Commission’s attempt to put him back into its lawsuit over 38 Studios’ private placement by trying to amend the complaint to include more details about his alleged aiding and abetting the defrauding of investors.

The judge assigned to Calvin Grigsby's federal discrimination lawsuit against the city of Shreveport, La., is considering whether to dismiss the complaint.

Sweet Briar College saw its revenue bonds upgraded four notches, although still within junk territory, because of efforts to keep the 114-year-old Virginia women's institution open.

A New Jersey appellate court rejected an effort to block a $1.15 billion bond sale to complete the long-stalled American Dream shopping and entertainment development at the Meadowlands.

A second edition of Chapman and Cutler LLP’s “Municipalities in Distress” was released Wednesday four years after book’s debut.

Puerto Rico’s retirement system plans to join an ongoing lawsuit filed against UBS over the alleged mishandling of pension obligation bond proceeds.

Atlantic City is now starring at a possible default by early October after New Jersey’s Local Finance Board rejected the distressed city’s request for a reprieve after violating a term of a $73 million bridge loan.

A school funding case adds another layer of financial uncertainty for the beleaguered state government.

Miami officials will hold a special meeting with attorneys to determine whether to accept a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission in light of a verdict finding the city guilty of securities fraud.

A $1 billion economic development initiative in Buffalo, N.Y. is at the center of a corruption scheme that federal prosecutors say resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars being awarded for New York State contracts.

Miami City Manager Daniel Alfonso said the city has received a proposed settlement of the Securities and Exchange Commission's case, in which a jury found the city guilty of securities fraud last week.

The settlement by former baseball pitcher Curt Schilling and other 38 Studios executives with Rhode Island could push lone defendant First Southwest to the table.

For the sixth time this year, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals has postponed oral arguments in Jefferson County, Ala.’s bankruptcy appeal.

A lawsuit filed against the state of Michigan on behalf of 14 local municipalities this month seeks to correct what they contend is a miscalculation in state aid that has shortchanged them for two decades.

Opa-locka faces potentially expensive legal challenges that could push the already troubled small south Florida city closer to bankruptcy.

San Bernardino's city attorney said the California city is on track to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year though two major creditors are trying to extend the process.

The securities fraud jury verdict against the city of Miami and its former budget director Michael Boudreaux on Wednesday will likely embolden the Securities and Exchange Commission to litigate rather than settle cases against issuers and their officials, lawyers said on Thursday.