Law and legal issues

On the first day of a trial in a lawsuit brought by banks to undo bond insurer MBIA Inc.'s split into two companies, the judge made clear she wanted the proceedings to focus on legal rather than factual issues.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett on Friday named retired Air Force Major General William Lynch as receiver for the state's distressed capital city of Harrisburg.

U.S. Justice Department antitrust prosecutors late Friday afternoon scored a clean sweep in the municipal bond bid-rigging trial in New York, as jurors in the fourth day of deliberation, and the 20th day of the trial, convicted Steven Goldberg, Peter Grimm and Dominick Carollo of wire fraud and conspiracy.

CHICAGO — Detroit Mayor Dave Bing Thursday tapped Jack Martin to be the city's new chief financial officer and oversee its urgent efforts to stabilize finances and avoid bankruptcy.

California’s Legislative Counsel says the Metropolitan Transportation Commission’s $93 million purchase of a building in San Francisco, using bridge toll money, violates state law.

LOS ANGELES — A bankruptcy judge has approved the Las Vegas Monorail Co.'s reorganization plan, allowing it to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy while nearly wiping out the investment made by bondholders.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Of Florida's 67 counties, an "unprecedented" 52 have joined a lawsuit challenging a new state law that county officials say could impair their ability to make bond payments and meet debt coverage requirements while reducing bonding capacity.

Federal bankruptcy Judge Thomas Bennett on Monday continued indefinitely proceedings related to Financial Guaranty Insurance Co.’s request for sewer rate increases in Jefferson County.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Alabama House County and Municipal Government Committee passed an amended bill Tuesday that is designed to bring fiscal relief to bankrupt Jefferson County.

LOS ANGELES — The Windrush School is in bankruptcy and bond default, but the private school in the East Bay suburbs of San Francisco will be allowed to finish out its final school year after working out a settlement with the bond trustee.

A federal bankruptcy court last week approved a deal allowing the Flint-based McLaren Health Care Corp. to buy Cheboygan Memorial Hospital, a troubled facility located in northern Michigan.

After three weeks of listening to audio transcripts that ranged from titillating to tedious, jurors heard more taped conversations in Judge Harold Baer's courtroom in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.

A Texas state court judge in Travis County last week reversed a decision that could have cost state and local governments millions of dollars each year in lost sales tax revenues.

SAN FRANCISCO — Wells Fargo NA plans to seek "remedies" after Stockton, Calif., failed to make lease payments that secure bonds, which could result in the city losing control of a building slated at one time to become its City Hall.

Pennsylvania declared the city of Altoona its 27th distressed municipality. C. Alan Walker, secretary of the Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary, made the announcement Thursday. He has 30 days to appoint a recovery plan coordinator for the city under the Act 47 program.

DALLAS — The largest business association in Texas on Wednesday intervened in one of a cluster of lawsuits seeking to overturn the state’s public school funding system.

Few days remain in the Alabama Legislature's annual session and lawmakers continue to argue over whether to provide bankrupt Jefferson County fiscal relief.

Bond insurer Ambac Assurance Corp. on Monday requested to withdraw from a legal case for an $8.5 billion settlement with Bank of America concerning mortgage-backed securities.

Bankrupt Jefferson County, Ala. last week dismissed counter charges against the Bank of New York Mellon for withdrawing $584,742 from a construction fund.

If a judge approves a fifth amended reorganization plan, the Las Vegas Monorail Co. could exit bankruptcy soon.