Law and legal issues

Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. Tuesday asked Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy judge to order the county to file a plan of adjustment by the end of September.

The broke city has yet another problem. It can't sell its sewer conveyance system to a local authority, as projected, because the authority has owned it since 1968.

An Ingham County judge shot down the Detroit Corporation Counsel's motion to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit that challenging the city's consent decree with the state. The decision removes one hurdle from the path of a badly needed bond transaction for the city.

Lawyers for former UBS Financial Services Inc. bankers Peter Ghavami, Gary Heinz and Michael Welty requested permission from the court to present evidence on municipal bond transactions other than 38 specific deals highlighted by prosecutors.

A Federal appeals court refused a rehearing on its decision to reject federal permits for North Carolina's Monroe Connector toll road.

The city council in San Bernardino, Calif., citing continuing deficits and the depletion of its general fund reserves, voted Tuesday night to authorize the city to file for Chapter 9 bankruptcy.

In the aftermath of financial guarantees by Scranton, Penn. and Stockton, Calif. recently contributing to the cities' defaults, the Government Accounting Standards Board is seeking to improve the visibility of these guarantees.

A retired state judge has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a new Illinois law that overhauls the state's retiree healthcare program and shifting more of the funding burden for premiums to beneficiaries.

William Lynch wants a state court to force the City Council to raise the earned-income levy to 1.5% from 0.5%.

Detroit faces two new lawsuits challenging the city's recent consent decree with the state about its finances.

Linda Thompson proposes ending a five-year old incinerator fee agreement with the Harrisburg Authority public works agency that she said would redirect $275,000 per year to Pennsylvania's distressed capital city.

Moody's Investors Service said Monday that a recent ruling in Jefferson County, Ala.'s bankruptcy case is a credit positive because it will prevent revenues securing the county's $3.14 billion of defaulted sewer warrants from being further diluted.

A Lackawanna County, Pa., judge late Friday enjoined Scranton from paying its employees only the federal minimum wage, but the mayor of the cash-strapped city said there's no money left with which to comply.

A U.S. appeals court will take up a lawsuit as early as October that attacks the financial backing of billions of bonds paying for the Washington Metrorail's Silver Line Extension to Dulles Airport.

Northeast public officials are glancing westward for any precedent that could emerge from that northern California city's bankruptcy filing.

A new civil grand jury report provides a new view of Victorville, Calif.'s convoluted finances, raising questions about the way the high-desert city uses bond proceeds.

Michigan and city officials reached an agreement with Bank of America Merrill Lynch that pushes back by two weeks the payment date on $80 million of privately placed notes. The extension gives the city more time to resolve a dispute with its top attorney, who is challenging the city's consent decree with the state.

For states planning cash flows over the next two years, passage of the federal Highway Bill creates a positive scenario for grant anticipation revenue vehicles known as Garvees, according to ratings analysts.

President Obama will sign the compromise two-year, $105 billion highway bill at a White House ceremony on July 6.

Mammoth Lakes, Calif., is set to become the second California municipality in as many months to file for bankruptcy protection after negotiations with its largest creditor failed.