Law and legal issues

Three former muni bankers from UBS Financial Services Inc. will go to trial on July 9 on charges of fraud schemes and conspiracies in connection with the bidding of investment and other contracts for municipal bonds from as early as 2001 until 2006.

California legislative leaders are suing the state’s controller over the authority to suspend lawmakers’ pay for late budgets.

LOS ANGELES — Veteran public finance banker L. William Huck and real estate lawyer and developer Todd Anson have formed San Diego-based Common Bond Capital Partners to capitalize on an estimated $5 billion in defaults expected in the land-secured municipal bond market.

The New York Racing Association has failed to implement significant financial reforms after its 2008 exit from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to an audit by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released Tuesday.

A federal court in New Jersey has approved a $24.9 million settlement between GE Funding Capital Market Services Inc. and the Securities and Exchange Commission over bid-rigging of municipal bond-related contracts, as well as the amounts of restitution to be distributed to each of the more than 325 state and local issuers that were defrauded.

BRADENTON, Fla. — Bankrupt Jefferson County, Ala., is once again suffering from an assault by Mother Nature as tornadoes and severe storms ripped through the county, killing several people and injuring dozens this weekend and into early Monday.

A forensic audit focusing on the incinerator bond deals largely responsible for driving Harrisburg into insolvency has prompted another request for federal investigations into the transactions.

MONROVIA, Calif.—Three weeks after the California Supreme Court affirmed legislation eradicating the state's community redevelopment agencies, local officials are scrambling to figure out what it means for them.

A federal bankruptcy judge’s approval of collective bargaining contracts between bankrupt Central Falls and retired employees is a credit positive for the city, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

The investor who holds $46 million of defaulted bonds issued by a Wisconsin tribe is taking aim at the financial and legal firms on the deal, accusing underwriter Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and bond counsel Godfrey & Kahn SC of misrepresenting the bonds' validity.

Facing a federal investigation of past practices, the North Texas Tollway Authority has adopted a new ethics policy that requires extensive disclosure and tighter strictures on conflicts of interest.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority in north Florida cancelled its meeting set for Wednesday.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday refused to review the conviction of former Jefferson County, Ala., Commission President Larry Langford.

BRADENTON, Fla. — The Santa Rosa Bay Bridge Authority meets Wednesday to continue working toward a resolution on its $115.9 million of defaulted bonds, which were sold to build a toll bridge in north Florida.

A public pension disclosure project spearheaded by a bond attorneys' group is expected to reach a critical milestone when it should become clear whether a voluntary coalition of industry participants will reach consensus on the project or produce separate recommendations.

Nassau County, N.Y., won a court case last week in a dispute over payment of tax rebates to homeowners, but the county can expect a court challenge.

The remaining bank policyholders suing bond insurer MBIA Inc. have requested that the New York Insurance Department hire an independent expert to analyze expected future losses in MBIA's structured finance portfolio.

SAN FRANCISCO — An eastern Washington public facilities district that defaulted on $42 million of notes last month is scrambling for ways to pay investors.

Harrisburg's City Council has delayed a vote on overriding mayor Linda Thompson's veto of the $54.3 million annual budget, citing a law that requires a three-day waiting period after the veto.

A construction firm convicted of fraud in connection with repairing Jefferson County’s sewer system has finally paid nearly $20 million in fines and court costs assessed more than five years ago, Alabama U.S. attorney Joyce White Vance said Friday.