Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
Michelle Casady is based in Houston and covers litigation and appeals — including trials, breaking news and industry trends — for The Texas Lawbook.
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.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup Jackson Walker and Quinn Emanuel are hired by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to pursue trademark violation claims, the Texas Supreme Court agrees to wade into a dispute involving the municipal regulation of short-term rentals and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determines a federal law regulating switchblades is unconstitutional.
Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez took under advisement Thursday whether to sanction Jackson Walker, expand the universe of cases subject to fee disgorgement or even appoint a special master if needed after an hourlong show-cause hearing in Houston. The hearing was prompted by the court’s discovery of more undisclosed cases in which former judge David Jones presided while romantically involved with former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez denied without prejudice competing motions to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee or to approve independent fiduciaries in the Camp Mystic bankruptcy, giving the debtors until Oct. 28 to file an amended plan to give independent fiduciaries control over the potential settlement of wrongful death lawsuits. The proposed plan the camp filed, he said, failed to provide the kind of independence necessary “to move these cases forward.”
The lead lawyer for Westlake Chemical said defeating the motion for a permanent injunction seeking to shut down a section of ethylene pipeline can be viewed as a win for Texas’ midstream energy industry. Express H20 Pipeline and ROW had argued a 3.5-mile portion of the Westlake pipeline violated its exclusive, blanket easement.
After 28 years as an appellate justice on the Twelfth Court of Appeals, Chief Justice James “Jim” Worthen heard oral arguments in his final case Tuesday morning.
The Texas 12th Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in hedge fund executive Kyle Bass’ effort to revive an ultra vires lawsuit against the Neches and Trinity Valleys Groundwater Conservation District over halted water well permits, which the district argues is barred by a prior settlement.
The U.S. Trustee’s office has told the court it is unnecessary to expand the claw-back litigation against Jackson Walker beyond the 33 bankruptcy cases already proceeding that involve former U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones and former Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner Elizabeth Freeman.
After hearing nearly four hours of closing arguments Tuesday, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said he should have a decision within about a week on a proposal to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee over the Camp Mystic bankruptcy.
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the SEC’s Fort Worth regional office closes out a case involving an alleged $91 million Ponzi scheme, a Dallas jury sides with Jani-King in a franchisee dispute, ExxonMobil investors are granted class certification in a securities suit and a Fifth Circuit panel affirms Pioneer Natural Resources’ force majeure win in a Winter Storm Uri dispute.
So many people showed up to the Camp Mystic bankruptcy hearing Friday morning that extra chairs were brought in and the courtroom doors were propped open to let the overflow hear. Opening statements, and much of the testimony, focused on the acrimony and distrust the creditor families say has infected the case.
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