Law and legal issues

The two counterparty banks on Detroit's interest-rate swaps no longer need to drop their claims against Syncora Guarantee Inc. after Syncora agreed to modify its settlement with the city.

A federal appeals court recently agreed with a lower court that former Miami budget director Michael Boudreaux does not have immunity from Securities and Exchange Commission charges, a decision some experts think could have implications for the SEC's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation initiative or other enforcement actions going forward.

An attorney representing defendants in a Victorville, Calif. bond fraud lawsuit pleaded guilty in a separate case to charges of money laundering and witness tampering.

A former Wayne County chief financial officer is one of three county officials indicted Monday as part of an investigation into a $300 million bond-funded jail in downtown Detroit.

A court ruling striking down a vote by hoteliers approving a bed tax for a planned San Diego convention center expansion demonstrates the power of Proposition 13, Fitch Ratings said in a report.

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.