Law and legal issues

A Rhode Island Superior Court judge dismissed a challenge by Oppenheimer Funds to the state's plan to sell nearly $600 million in tobacco revenue bonds.

Lazard Freres, which represented retirees in the Detroit bankruptcy, said it agreed to a 37% fee reduction as part of court-ordered mediation.

The pension lawsuit brought against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last year is now in the hands of a judge following a five-hour hearing on Jan. 15.

Menasha, Wisconsin, which fell into junk bond status after defaulting on notes tied to a power plant conversion project that went awry, has won back its investment grade rating from Moody's Investors Service.

Bondholders will learn later this month how much they stand to recoup from a settlement that ended a trial accusing Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. of misleading them on a bond deal that soured after the failure of an artificial sweetener plant project in Moberly, Mo.

A settlement was announced Wednesday to end a federal civil trial stemming from a bond default triggered by the collapse of an artificial sweetener plant project in Moberly, Mo; the former Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. was among the defendants.

The Illinois attorney general has made her pitch to the state Supreme Court on behalf of legislation designed to restructure the state employee pension system.

A lawsuit brought against New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie over lack of payments to the state's pension system is headed to a key court date.

Jury selection began Tuesday in a federal class action lawsuit accusing the former Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. of securities fraud for its role in underwriting $39 million of defaulted bonds for a failed artificial sweetener plant in Moberly, Mo.

Municipal bond defaults, which increased to record levels last year as Detroit's bankruptcy boosted the total, may remain elevated this year.

A union opposed to the sale of nonprofit California hospital system Daughters of Charity to a for-profit operator has filed a National Labor Relations Board complaint as it fights to derail the transaction.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is urging a federal court to accept the settlements it had reached with two former officials of the city of Allen Park, Mich., in November, after the court vacated them a day later and asked for more information.

The recent dismissal of a three-year old lawsuit against Burlington, Vt. related to its city-owned broadband provider Burlington Telecom is a credit positive for Vermont's largest city, according to Moody's Investors Service.

While entangled in a federal lawsuit over disclosure issues, Miami rolled out a new transparency initiative to make financial data publicly available.

San Bernardino's pension bondholders have filed a lawsuit in the California city's bankruptcy case seeking equal treatment with the state's largest pension fund.

The engineers of the plan Long Island's Suffolk County Off-Track Betting Corp. used to exit Chapter 9 with a 100% return to creditors say it could be a model for other municipal reorganizations.

Michigan Democrat Rep. John Conyers has introduced legislation that would make it much harder for municipalities to restructure their debt through bankruptcy.

California's nonprofit Daughters of Charity Health System is bucking noisy union opposition in an effort to sell out to a for-profit operator that would retire its junk-rated tax-exempt bonds.

Lombard, Ill.'s refusal to cover a debt service shortfall on $190 million of bonds issued for a struggling hotel and conference center has triggered a new payment default.

Work is officially under way on California's $68 billion high speed passenger rail project funded with $10 billion of voter-approved state bonds