Law and legal issues

A Pittsburgh grand jury looking into Harrisburg's finances has received a six-month extension to Jan. 31.

A recent New Jersey Tax Court ruling that most of the Morristown Medical Center campus did not qualify for a local property tax exemption from 2006 to 2008 is a credit negative for the state's non-profit hospitals, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Comptroller Leslie Geissler Munger want the state courts to provide more clarity on what can be paid without a fiscal 2016 budget in place, including whether the state can meet its payroll.

The Georgia Supreme Court Monday ruled that $368 million of bonds to finance the Atlanta Braves' $672 million baseball stadium were properly validated by a lower court.

The Supreme Court has declined to hear the case of ex-Miami, Fla. budget director Michael Boudreaux, sending the former official and the city back to court to fight a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit in a move some lawyers fear could hurt municipal officials' abilities to do their jobs.

The New Jersey State Legislature has approved a package of bills aimed at stabilizing Atlantic City's finances.

A legal battle over use of a gate at Love Field will delay $110 million of revenue bonds for an urgently needed parking garage at the Dallas airport.

A federal judge in Alabama has ordered mediation in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s pay-to-play suit against two ex-JPMorgan bankers involved in Jefferson County sewer deals.

The Supreme Court's Thursday ruling that upheld the legality of federal subsidies under the Affordable Care Act is a win for the hospital sector that provides some stability through the remainder of the Obama presidency, analysts said.

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla’s administration is pressing for Congress to stop focusing on the question of Puerto Rico’s statehood and instead shift its energy to giving the island territory access to Chapter 9 bankruptcy powers that exist in the states.

The federal government extended All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion private activity bond allocation, relieving pressure on the private train owner to issue the bonds as legal challenges proceed.

A Virginia judge approved a mediated deal June 22 that will keep Virginia's Briar College open for another year and release endowment funds.

The Florida Legislature ended a special session June 19 after adopting a $78.7 billion record budget for fiscal 2016 that is now being challenged in court by environmentalists.

Standard & Poor's lowered the bond ratings of Virginia’s Sweet Briar College further into junk territory June 18 due to the legal efforts to keep the institution open.

Wayne County, Mich. Executive Warren Evans is asking for state intervention to help tackle the county’s fiscal woes, submitting on Wednesday a formal request that a financial emergency be declared.

Investors in the financing that enabled Jefferson County to exit bankruptcy should not have the “rug pulled out from under them,” the county’s attorneys argued to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A federal judge Tuesday said federal approval of a controversial $1.5 billion toll road between Indiana and Illinois was “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of federal environmental law.

A Michigan appeals court ruling clipped the authority of the state’s emergency managers in the first case examining the extent of their power under the state’s law for distressed local governments.

Holders of $5.2 billion of Detroit water and sewer bonds are again playing a key role as the city attempts to execute its last big bargain struck during its bankruptcy.

Glendale Ariz.’s decision to cancel a 15-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes professional hockey team is a positive credit factor for the A3-rated city, according to Moody’s Investors Service. Standard & Poor’s sees negative implications in a pending $200 million lawsuit.