Law and legal issues

The case, which was refiled last week without federal claims from an earlier lawsuit, will have its first hearing in January.

The county plans to sell $2.5 billion of tax-exempt sewer revenue warrants to refund the debt issued to finance its 2013 exit from Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

SIFMA, which also filed a brief, said the District Court judge's rejection of a bondholder lien on PREPA's revenues "grossly misreads the underlying bond documents."

The nation's fourth-largest city will have new officials at the helm of its government and finances for the first time in eight years.

A constitutional amendment approved by Texas voters Nov. 7 will reduce public school property taxes, leaving the state to make up for the revenue reduction.

The decision by the District of Columbia-based U.S. Appeals Court will officially vacate the Surface Transportation Board's environmental approval for the project.

Court-approved asset sales and bond exchanges are pushing a participant sports venue, a hospital, and a senior living community closer to exiting Chapter 11.

Owners of $284 million of defaulted bonds will get only $2.4 million in cash, along with a minority equity stake in Legacy Park's new owner.

The bankrupt city challenged pledged revenues for 2017 bonds, but the bankruptcy court said the lien was secured, at least until the Chapter 9 was filed.

Litigation brought by a state public pension recipient challenges the constitutionality of a 2022 law prohibiting governmental contracts with companies the Oklahoma treasurer determines are "boycotting" energy businesses.

City Attorney Michael Gates said he will appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

A group of taxpayers argue that a property tax increase approved by Austin voters in 2020 for light rail cannot be used to support bonds.

The state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a request to hear arguments seeking to overturn a capital gains tax expected to bring in $500 million annually.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing Monday will take up the university's winning bid for Mercy Hospital at last week's reopened auction.

The number of municipal bond delinquencies declined in the third quarter, despite some dramatic outliers that Moody's Investors Service characterized as idiosyncratic in a report released Monday.

The whistleblower who brought the case, Minnesota-based municipal advisor Johan Rosenberg, will receive $14.4 million under the deal.

A $25.5 million cash offer plus some equity was made to acquire Legacy Park, which was financed with $284 million of now-defaulted revenue bonds.

"Nothing is off the table in terms of looking at who we can potentially charge," said Brian Fagel, assistant director of the SEC's Public Finance Abuse Unit.  

Georgia Power and Oglethorpe Power agreed to new terms for cost overruns on two new Plant Vogtle nuclear reactors.

At stake is nearly $800 million in Federal Transit Administration funds.