Law and legal issues

The Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority board approved a $230 million interchange project in what was likely its final act before the agency is transferred to a new organization.

Bond insurer Syncora Guarantee said in a court filing that Detroit, as well as federal court mediators and even the bankruptcy judge himself have unfairly singled out the insurer as part of an anti-Wall Street public relations campaign.

Debate over the 38 Studios bond fiasco reheated late into the night as a Rhode Island lawmaker offered a bill to ban a $12.5 payment on moral obligation debt a state agency issued on behalf of the failed video game maker.

Detroit officials will meet Thursday with Ambac Assurance Corp. and Blackrock Financial in a court-ordered mediation session to try to reach a settlement after months of failed talks.

The California Department of Finance scored a win in its court battle with San Bernardino over money transferred to the city following the dissolution of its redevelopment agency.

Five residents living near the Atlanta Falcons new stadium filed notice saying they will appeal a judge's validation of $278.3 million in bonds to support the $1.2 billion project.

Detroit's bankruptcy court judge has delayed the scheduled start date for hearings on the city's confirmation plan by three weeks to Aug. 14.

Detroit's hometown automakers pledged $26 million towards the Detroit Institute of Arts' $100 million share of the so-called "grand bargain" that's a key part of the city's plan to emerge from bankruptcy.

New Jersey police unions have sued state government to force it to make planned payments to the pension systems.

Michigan legislation that raises money for Detroit's pensions marks a "lost opportunity" for bondholders and reflects ongoing tensions between bond and pension recoveries in the bankrupt city, Moody's Investors Service said.

New study links increased public corruption to high levels of state expenditures on highways and other construction projects.

City attorneys should be aware of possible conflicts between the issuer they represent and its employees, financial advisors and counsel about whether to self-report that bond documents failed to disclose violations of a continuing disclosure agreement, regulators and lawyers warned Thursday.

The Detroit City Council Thursday approved the transfer of the city's art collection to a charitable trust, a key piece of the so-called grand bargain that holds together the city's bankruptcy exit plan.

Three new indictments were handed down in a widening Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority scandal and a fourth person pleaded guilty to violating Florida's sunshine law.

Doral Financial Corp. has sued the Puerto Rican government for more than $229 million.

At least another month will pass before a judge decides if Stockton, Calif. can exit Chapter 9 bankruptcy, after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein set another hearing for July 8.

Holders of Detroit's bonds want the bankruptcy judge to consider key questions of whether the city's treatment of its bond debt is legal at a main confirmation trial this summer instead of a one-day hearing set for later this month.

Calling it a historic day in Michigan, Gov. Rick Snyder promised speedy approval of a package of bills aimed at resolving Detroit's bankruptcy with a state contribution to the city's pensions funds.

A group of creditors led by bond insurers asked the federal judge overseeing Detroit's Chapter 9 bankruptcy to delay the confirmation trial by nearly two months, saying the city has failed to turn over key documents in a timely way.

The Louisiana Legislature passed a bill unanimously that would require all issuers to fulfill disclosure requirements, and have auditors check for compliance.