Law and legal issues

A jury trial is scheduled in the challenge to Rhode Island's landmark pension overhaul law, and a citizen jury represents a wild card in the case, say legal experts.

A federal judge has sentenced former Ohio deputy treasurer and Chicago comptroller Amer Ahmad to 15 years in prison for his role in kickback scandal involving state investment business at the Ohio treasurer’s office.

A beleaguered Victorville, Calif. airport authority notified bondholders in a filing that it expected to default for the seventh time on bonds it issued to redevelop the airport from military to civilian use.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking a buyer for the Lakeway Regional Medical Center after the Austin area hospital defaulted on a $164 million HUD-guaranteed mortgage.

Officials of Bell, Calif., the Los Angleles-area city where the former administration was jailed earlier this year for misappropriation of funds, said the tax-exempt status of $35 million in general obligation bonds that came under review by the Internal Revenue Service has been preserved.

If San Bernardino follows Stockton and Vallejo's example by impairing its bond creditors, it consolidates a pattern in California Chapter 9 cases in which pensions fare better than lease-backed and pension-obligated bondholders.

A lower court ruling throwing out Illinois' pension reforms isn't expected to trigger any immediate negative credit action or legislative moves, as all eyes turn to the Illinois Supreme Court.

A registered investment advisor who worked with Texas Attorney General-elect Ken Paxton could lose his securities license after a hearing Jan. 27. Paxton was fined and reprimanded for violating state securities laws in directing business to Mowery.

A judge gave the green light for Portland, Ore.'s Metro to issue bonds for a hotel project, but opponents say they will appeal the ruling.

Illinois' landmark pension reform law is headed to the Illinois Supreme Court following a lower court decision Friday that the benefit cuts violate the state constitution.

The International Municipal Lawyers Association has filed a friend of the court brief asking a federal appeals court to reconsider its decision to disregard a qualified immunity defense for Miami, Fla.'s former budget director, warning that allowing the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against him to go forward would negatively affect municipalities everywhere.

At least two northwest Indiana counties put together a preliminary bid on the bankrupt Indiana Toll Road that's expected to be at least $4 billion, while three other counties opted out of the proposal.

Kentucky's Paducah Power System board will be asked to take bankruptcy off the table as an option to deal with its struggling finances, said manager Mark Crisson, because the system is solvent.

San Bernardino hires consultant to study service levels needed in the city in the hope of crafting a feasible bankruptcy exit strategy.

The state of Michigan may come to market in the next several weeks with a $450 million bond deal to finance a controversial new hockey stadium in Detroit.

A court ruling that South Carolina failed to provide a "minimally adequate" education to poor children is credit positive for low-income school districts, said Moody's.

Trends in the San Bernardino bankruptcy case put the city's bondholders on track to feel more pain than other creditors.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey won a court battle against the Automotive Automobile Association's efforts to block a planned December toll hike.

A federal judge wants more information on bond firms involved in a $31 million borrowing by Allen Park, Mich. that was the target of a recent SEC probe.

Charlotte, N.C., wants the FAA to settle a lengthy governance dispute between local and state officials over Charlotte Douglas International Airport.