Law and legal issues

The capital markets reacted favorably when the U.S. Justice Department let two Rhode Island communities use Google settlement money to replenish pension funds.

The Illinois RTA accused American Airlines and United Airlines of avoiding $300 million in sales taxes over the last seven years by conducting some business in "sham" offices set up outside of Cook County.

Two former bankers, Steven Goldberg and Peter Grimm, at an affiliate of General Electric Co. have contested a Justice Department request that they pay $6.9 million in restitution for their role in a scheme to rig bids for municipal bond reinvestment contracts.

A private-sector financial consultant wants Scranton, Pa., officials to clarify a bond-document statement that he said contradicts property tax increase plans.

Harrisburg, Pa., Controller and mayoral candidate Dan Miller said he would appeal a judge’s decision that would force him to sign an agreement that allows the distressed city’s sale of Wild West artifact collections to proceed, the Patriot-News reported.

The three popular suburban Atlanta charter schools that defaulted on $18.93 million of uninsured bonds have proposed a settlement with investors that is expected to result in a loss.

Facing a $4.3 million deficit and courting insolvency, Idaho's Nampa School District No. 131 is seeking a judge's approval to borrow up to $4.3 million to cover the shortfall.

West Penn Allegheny Health System, bondholders and Highmark are continuing talks about a $475 million affiliation agreement, with West Penn possibly avoiding bankruptcy.

El Paso, Texas, will file a bond validation lawsuit in state district court seeking an OK for its plans to issue $50.4 million of bonds for a downtown baseball stadium.

Hours after Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and the City Council fired the city's corporation counsel, Bing said a state review team's decision about whether to take over the city could come as soon as Friday.

In a case with implications for the bond industry, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling could send water flowing from Oklahoma to Texas after years of battles over interstate pipelines in the drought-prone region.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority assessed financial firms and individuals $68 million in fines in 2012 and ordered them to pay a record $34 million in restitution to investors, the regulator announced Tuesday.

Kentucky and Indiana settle the 2009 federal lawsuit by two nonprofit groups that could have derailed the $2.6 billion Ohio River Bridges Project. A second federal complaint is still pending.

Colorado developer Zach Davidson has been indicted on 20 counts of misusing public funds from a $31 million bond issue designed to finance an upscale housing development in affluent Greenwood Village.

Master trustee UMB Bank told West Penn Allegheny Health System to file an audited financial statement within 30 days to avoid violation of a bond covenant.

Bank of New York Mellon accelerated about $116 million of toll revenue bonds due to ongoing defaults by Florida's Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority. The trustee said payment on the bonds is due immediately.

Adrian Scott-Jones, a government witness who perjured himself at a federal courtroom in April, received 18 months for his role in the muni bond bid-rigging case.

A process winding down California's redevelopment agencies remains complex and painful for successor agencies though a year has passed.

West Penn Allegheny Health System has 30 days to post its audited financial report for the 2012 fiscal year to avoid default on its $726 million bond issue.

Wells Fargo Bank NA said in a market notice that it would not distribute Jan. 1 interest payments due on $18.93 million of uninsured, defaulted bonds sold for three popular Georgia charter schools.