Law and legal issues

A recent ruling by the bankruptcy judge in San Bernardino’s Chapter 9 case, and the city’s bankruptcy exit plan, are credit negatives for San Bernardino's pension obligation bond investors, according to a Moody's report.

A federal appeals court denied the appeals of a trio of convicted bid-riggers Thursday in a ruling that could have lasting effects for future fraudsters.

The Florida Development Finance Corp. postponed a June 10 meeting that was scheduled to consider the bond resolution for All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion of private activity bonds.

The Wayne County, Mich. board Thursday rejected a proposal to cover a court-ordered pension payment with a special property tax levy, voting instead to dip into a delinquent revolving tax fund.

Moody's Investors Service pushed a small Ohio hospital deep into junk territory amid a variable-rate debt-driven liquidity crisis and after a proposed merger with the state's largest provider fell through.

Former Harrisburg, Pa., Mayor Stephen Reed, one day after agents raided his home, told reporters he has Stage 4 prostate cancer.

Two weeks after El Paso Children’s Hospital filed for bankruptcy, the county hospital district that issued $120 million of bonds filed a voluntary disclosure of the filing on the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s EMMA Web site.

The Florida Development Finance Corp. will meet June 10 to consider All Aboard Florida’s $1.75 billion bond resolution, though project opponents have questioned if the meeting would be legal.

Newly discovered meeting tapes may shed additional light on Scranton’s 2002 pension incentive, said Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale.

State Treasurer Seth Magaziner and retired Superior Court Judge Frank Williams urged Rhode Island lawmakers to approve the pension overhaul lawsuit compromise.

Six Missouri lawmakers have filed a complaint aimed at preventing Gov. Jay Nixon from tapping revenues that go to repay debt on the St. Louis Rams’ stadium for a new professional football stadium without legislative or voter support.

Retired Rhode Island Superior Court Judge Frank Williams will mediate the lawsuit against now-defunct video game company 38 Studios.

A federal judge hears arguments Friday on whether the private All Aboard Florida passenger train project can issue $1.75 billion in private activity bonds.

A North Carolina anti-toll group wants a judge to proceed with its lawsuit in an attempt to stop the state’s Interstate 77 toll project for which the P3 contract was finalized May 20.

Australian fund manager IFM Investors has paid $5.72 billion to lease the Indiana Toll Road for 66 years, marking the largest privatization for an existing U.S. asset and the first time major US pension funds have invested in American infrastructure.

A new report identified five struggling Chicago-area suburbs as most vulnerable to a Chapter 9 filing if state law is changed to permit it.

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found fault with Maryland's personal income tax collection scheme will cost localities in the state millions of dollars but may not impact their credit ratings, analysts and government officials said.

El Paso Children’s Hospital's bankruptcy filing led to board resignations and the threat of a rating downgrade, though $120 million of bonds appear well secured by a general obligation pledge.

Work on North Carolina’s Interstate 77 express toll lane project will begin this summer with a lawsuit pending and over recent objections filed by some communities.

San Bernardino, Calif. enters the final stage of its Chapter 9 bankruptcy with a plan for its pension obligation bondholders to take it on the chin.