Law and legal issues

Two ex-JPMorgan bankers shouldn't be allowed to give statements six years after taking the Fifth Amendment in the Jefferson County, Ala., sewer bond and swap case, the SEC says.

Detroit and Syncora Guarantee Inc. said Monday they've reached a final settlement that is expected to accelerate the city's exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in the U.S.

Bond insurer Financial Guaranty Insurance Co. asked the federal court to delay the Detroit bankruptcy trial for at least a week to give it time to prepare new legal strategy in light of the city's proposed settlement with Syncora Guarantee Inc.

The judge in the San Bernardino bankruptcy case tentatively ruled Thursday that the city could reject its current collective bargaining agreement with the firefighter's union.

Flint, in many ways a mini-Detroit, is likely to avoid bankruptcy amid improving financial conditions unless it loses a court battle over its effort to cut retiree health care costs, Moody's Investors Service says in a new report.

Syncora Guarantee Inc. is pushing back against widely reported claims that it is receiving 26 cents on the dollar in its tentative settlement with Detroit, saying the actual recovery is “much lower than reported.”

Detroit's chief bankruptcy mediator ordered FGIC, the last holdout creditor, into talks with the city and Syncora Guarantee Inc. and other major creditors on Friday to try to resolve a dispute over $1.5 billion of certificates of participation.

Detroit and Syncora Guarantee Inc. will spend the next few days working to finalize a major agreement that would speed up the bankruptcy, but important questions remain in the case, muni market experts said.

Detroit's historic bankruptcy case saw a major breakthrough late Tuesday when the city and its strongest opponent, bond insurer Syncora Guarantee, announced they had reached an agreement in principal.

Another two petitions have been filed asking the California Supreme Court to review a recent decision to allow the High Speed Rail Authority to issue bonds for the rail project.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said emergency manager Keyvn Orr will likely serve as a consultant to the city's bankruptcy after his tenure as emergency manager expires at the end of the month.

Oppenheimer is set to return to court on Wednesday afternoon to defend a motion to add to the list of defendants in its complaint against the Rhode Island Tobacco Settlement Financing Corporation.

Detroit has reached a deal to spin its troubled Water and Sewerage Department to a new regional authority, that allows up to $800 million of new money bonds for capital improvements to assets located in the city limits.

Pension obligations are no different than borrowing obligations, public finance expert Richard Ravitch told a group of investors in New York.

Detroit entered the second week of the confirmation trial for its bankruptcy exit plan Monday, calling witnesses who testified to the city's desperate need for the $1.5 billion of capital investments featured in the plan.

Oppenheimer squared off against the Rhode Island Tobacco Settlement Financing Corp. at a state court hearing Monday as the fund company sought to block a $593 million tobacco bond refunding sale originally slated for early August.

An Alabama federal rejected ex-JPMorgan bankers' motions to dismiss the pay-to-play case against them involving Jefferson County, Ala.'s sewer deals and swaps.

Recent rulings from Washington State's Supreme Court to allow reforms of pension benefits are a credit positive for the state and local governments, according to Moody's Investors Service.

Harrisburg, Pa., recovering from the brink of bankruptcy, made its latest general obligation bond payment two weeks early.

Detroit's first witness in its bankruptcy trial, CFO John Hill, testified that the city's confirmation plan would mean more money for the struggling city but that meeting some of the revenue targets could be difficult.