Law and legal issues

Another Detroit suburb faces state takeover after a review team declared it to be in a state of financial emergency.

Fitch Ratings warns that North Las Vegas could become insolvent as officials in the suburb of Las Vegas have identified no clear plan to address a large deficit.

Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy, will rule next week on a critical interest-rate swaps settlement after an all-day hearing Thursday that centered on the legality of the lien backing the derivatives.

Detroit's revised debt plan, which proposes even lower recoveries for bondholders, is a harsh reminder that even bonds with strong security pledges will suffer when economic conditions are too bad, Moody's Investors Service said in a comment titled "Detroit Turns the Screw."

Mesa's plan to build a 1.9-mile light-rail extension using $200 million of revenue bonds does not require a public vote, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled on April 1.

Three convicted bid-riggers filed documents with a federal appeals court this week arguing that their convictions should be overturned because of several errors by the lower court.

Litigants appealing Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy could face an uphill battle based on the history of such cases, according to a legal expert.

Detroit can move forward with a controversial $120 million loan with Barclays, the federal judge overseeing the city's bankruptcy case said Wednesday.

Bondholder recoveries would tumble another 5% under an updated plan of debt adjustment that Detroit filed with the bankruptcy court Monday evening.

The arrest of Mayor Patrick Cannon may prompt state lawmakers to strengthen a law removing Charlotte Douglas International Airport from the city's control.

Bond insurer Syncora Guarantee requested dozens of documents from the Detroit Institute of Arts, Christie's, and the state tied to the insurer's challenge to the city's bankruptcy and its attempt to protect the city's art collection from sale.

The Detroit bankruptcy judge on Wednesday will consider a request from bond insurers and others requesting that a hearing on a controversial swaps settlement scheduled for Thursday be pushed back by at least 10 days.

Detroit Friday released details of a controversial $120 million loan with Barclays as ordered by the bankruptcy judge overseeing the case.

Central Falls, R.I., reporting a $1.6 million surplus less than two years after exiting bankruptcy is a credit positive, according to Moody's.

Detroit amended its interest-rate swaps deal to drop banks' requirement that it sign off on its plan of debt adjustment, and also said it would file an updated bankruptcy plan on Monday.

Detroit's proposed $120 million loan with Barclays, which would finance service improvements, advanced Tuesday after a key Michigan board approved the deal.

The Department of Justice will revive its federal housing discrimination lawsuit against the Louisiana State Bond Commission after commissioners rejected a settlement.

Standard & Poor's Tuesday downgraded Detroit's already junk-rated $5.9 billion of water and sewer bonds warning of a default even as the city turns to the private sector to take over the asset.

New Mexico is facing a new round of litigation over school funding after a lawsuit was filed on behalf of poor and Spanish-speaking students.

The judge overseeing Detroit's bankruptcy case ordered the city to disclose more details of a proposed $120 million loan with Barclays, including financing terms and the use of proceeds.