To resolve a split of circuits and decide whether Section 106(a) waives sovereign immunity as to Native American tribes, the Supreme Court heard oral argument on April 24 in Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians v. Coughlin, 22-227 (Sup. Ct.), according to an analysis in Rochelle's Daily Wire. To this writer’s way of thinking, the statute is opaque. Notably, the arguments by counsel on both sides and every question or comment from the justices were about textualism. There wasn’t a single statement or question exploring policy, asking what the better answer would be from the point of view of creditors, debtors or tribes, or finding the answer in the objectives of the Bankruptcy Code and federal law regarding tribes.
With the City of Highland Park, Mich., on the losing end of 10 years worth of litigation with the Great Lakes Water Authority over unpaid water and sewer bills and $19 million hanging in the balance, Mayor Glenda McDonald asked the city council to approve petitioning the governor to allow the city to file for chapter 9 bankruptcy, ClickonDetroit.com reported. The legal road has run out for the city, and the millions of dollars it owes the GLWA are about to come due. “GLWA is asking to be able to turn off the water ‘This isn’t the case’ and put a levy on our properties,” said McDonald. Highland Park has a court date Thursday (April 20) in Wayne County Circuit Court and is so concerned a levy will be applied that the mayor and the city’s attorneys feel a bankruptcy filing is the only way to prevent it from happening. According to the city’s numbers, a levy on property taxes for the unpaid $19 million would increase property taxes threefold.
