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Michelle Casady

Michelle Casady is based in Houston and covers litigation and appeals — including trials, breaking news and industry trends — for The Texas Lawbook.

Michelle Casady

Michelle Casady has been a reporter in Texas since January 2009. She's covered crime at The Bryan-College Station Eagle, courts at the San Antonio Express-News and civil litigation for Law360. In July 2022, she joined The Texas Lawbook.

Her reporting has included covering arrests, trials, plea deals and settlements, executions, natural and manmade disasters, colorful characters and various oddities.

She lives in Houston with her husband Matt, a sweet dog Hurricane Harvey brought into their lives, and a confident cat who keeps everyone in line. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas Tech University and was a 2018 fellow of the Loyola Marymount University Journalist Law School.

You can reach Michelle at michelle.casady@texaslawbook.net or (713) 614-7929.

Dallas-Based Firm Secures $65.5M Verdict Against J&J in Minnesota

Johnson & Johnson owes a 37-year-old mother of three $65.5 million in damages for causing her mesothelioma, a jury in Minnesota determined Friday afternoon.

Anna Jean Houghton Carley, who was diagnosed with terminal peritoneal mesothelioma in February, alleged exposure to Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder throughout her childhood exposed her to asbestos and contributed to her developing mesothelioma. 

Ben Braly of Dean Omar Branham Shirley, who represented Carley at trial, said the case wasn’t just about compensation, but about “truth and accountability.”  

Michelle Casady

Camp Mystic Defendants Want New Venue, Deny Wrongdoing 

In the four separate lawsuits filed in Travis County District Court by families whose daughters were killed in the July 4 flooding of the Guadalupe River that swept through Camp Mystic, the defendants are arguing the cases should not proceed in Austin.

Instead, the cases should be litigated in Kerr County, where Camp Mystic sits and where “all relevant events in this lawsuit took place,” recently filed motions argue.

Michelle Casady

Xcel Energy Accused of Causing Deadly Smokehouse Creek Fire

Attorney General Ken Paxton on Tuesday announced he was suing Southwestern Public Service Company, which does business as Xcel Energy, for allegedly causing 2024’s Smokehouse Creek Fire. The fire, which killed three and caused more than $1 billion in damages, was the largest wildfire in recorded Texas history. (File photo by Julio Cortez/The Associated Press)

Michelle Casady

New Mexico Jury Slams Michelin with $220M Verdict in Defect Case

A jury in New Mexico sided with a Texas family on Friday, agreeing a defect in a Michelin tire was to blame for an incident that left three people dead. The lawsuit was filed in New Mexico district court in San Miguel County against Michelin North America and Discount Tire Company of New Mexico in 2021.

Michelle Casady

Dallas Jury Awards $44.2M in I-35 Pileup Trial 

In a 10-2 decision reached after deliberating over two days, a jury in Dallas County last night determined New Prime and its driver owe $44 million in damages to the family of a man who was killed during a fatal pileup on an icy Interstate 35 in February 2021. 

Michelle Casady

Houston Suit Against Dollar Tree Over Ejaculation Incident Alleges Nationwide Pattern

Houston personal injury attorney Anna Greenberg represents four women who allege they were ejaculated on while shopping at Dollar Tree stores — one in Miami, one in San Diego, a client in Colorado Springs who was shopping with her mother and 2-year-old child, and one in Houston. 

“I would say it’s a uniquely vile sex crime, and my clients are uniquely injured here because it’s happening to them in a public space,” Greenberg told The Texas Lawbook in a recent interview. “They are customers at a store, minding their own business and often are approached from behind and don’t know what’s happening to them until it’s too late.” (Photo by Erik McGregor/Sipa USA via AP Images)

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Fight Between Texas AG, Johnson & Johnson Expands

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the state of Texas secures a temporary restraining order against Johnson & Johnson from a judge in rural West Texas. The order came a few days after the pharmaceutical company asked a Travis County judge to bring an end to what it said were four retaliatory investigations launched after Johnson & Johnson got a win in Tylenol-related litigation the attorney general initiated in rural East Texas. 

Michelle Casady

Dallas PE Firm Largely Cleared in $180M Alliance of American Football Bankruptcy Case

Western District of Texas Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig A. Gargotta issued a 199-page opinion and order Tuesday in a case he’s been presiding over for six years. He wrote that the trustee failed to prove all but one of its claims for relief and awarded just $1 in damages. “Further, there was insufficient evidence to support an award of damages or attorney’s fees in this case,” he wrote. “The result may be viewed as harsh, but it is appropriate.” 

Michelle Casady

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