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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.

Texas Reaches $1.375B Settlement with Google in Data Privacy Suits

A little more than a week after Google and Texas told the state’s supreme court they were in settlement negotiations that could end litigation in a consumer protection lawsuit, Texas on Friday afternoon announced a $1.375 billion settlement with the tech giant. Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement calling the settlement of the state Deceptive Trade Practices Act claims “a major win for Texans’ privacy” and said it “tells companies that they will pay for abusing our trust.”

Michelle Casady

SEC Says 3 DFW Residents Ran $91M Ponzi Scheme

Kenneth W. Alexander II, Robert D. Welsh and Caedrynn E. Conner are accused of defrauding more than 200 investors out of millions via a trust Alexander controlled called Vanguard Holdings Group Irrevocable Trust. The SEC filed the 37-page lawsuit against the trio in the Eastern District of Texas, Sherman Division, on Tuesday. 

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: SCOTX Vacates Guardianship Divorce Decree

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a woman whose Lyft driver was convicted of raping her settles a civil lawsuit against the company about a week before trial was to begin in Dallas County, members of a Houston megachurch allege an improper takeover by leadership, and a jury in Austin awards a seven-figure verdict in a revenge porn case.

Michelle Casady

After Virginia Judge Found Google Operates Advertising Tech Monopoly, What Does it Mean for Texas Case? 

Google, which was recently found by a federal judge in Virginia to be operating a monopoly over advertising technology, is trying to convince a federal judge in Texas that it should not have to face a similar trial — albeit one that includes state law claims — in that state. In an interview this week with The Texas Lawbook, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, Mark Lanier of Lanier Law Firm, said the states are “absolutely entitled to a jury trial.” 

Michelle Casady

Lawyer Says Lack of ‘Independent Verification’ to Blame for Nonexistent Case Cites

A lawyer who filed an appellate brief that included four cases the Fifth Court of Appeals could not locate has explained that the culprit is “relying on third-party research without independent verification.” “This has been a humbling and embarrassing lesson in the importance of verifying every citation at its source,” Heidi Rochon Hafer wrote in a response filed April 20.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: AT&T Beats Back $57M FCC Fine

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a bench trial to determine whether the U.S. Trustee can clawback millions in fees awarded to Jackson Walker for work done on certain bankruptcy cases is officially canceled, personal injury lawyer Thomas J. Henry hires David J. Beck to defend his trademark and a longtime Dallas judge makes a big announcement. 

Michelle Casady

Lynn Pinker Accuses AAA Arbitrator of More ‘Egregious Conduct’ in Dickey’s Case

Lynn Pinker partner Mary Goodrich Nix told the AAA its arbitrator refused to grant her any accommodation or continuance when she was in the hospital with her fatally ill father. She also told the administrator of the arbitration between her client, Dickey’s, and a franchisee that arbitrator Gary Leydig referred to her in an email as “Ms. Dix” and said he “has never apologized or acknowledged this, despite having been confronted with how offensive it was.”

Michelle Casady

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