The Texas Lawbook

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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.

Boeing Asks Texas Supreme Court for Rehearing in SWAPA Case

Doubling down on an argument that was central in its original petition to the court, The Boeing Company told the Texas Supreme Court in a motion for rehearing filed Wednesday that without intervention, Texas will remain “a national outlier on conflict preemption under the federal Railway Labor Act.” The aerospace company is hoping to bring an end to a lawsuit brought by the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association alleging Boeing’s false representations about the airworthiness of the 737 MAX aircraft cost it millions of dollars.

Michelle Casady

Supreme Court of Texas: Which Appeals Courts Fared Best?

The Texas Supreme Court reviewed 96 cases from the state's 14 intermediate appellate courts this past term. Overall, the distribution of outcomes varied, with some courts experiencing a higher rate of affirmations while others saw more reversals or mixed decisions. The Lawbook examined the performance of the appeals courts by the state's highest judicial authority.

Michelle Casady

How One Word in TCPA Puts Pro Bono Litigants at a Disadvantage

One little word within the text of the Texas Citizens Participation Act effectively disincentivizes First Amendment lawyers from taking libel and defamation cases on a pro bono basis. Two lawyers who have won dismissal of such lawsuits brought against their pro bono clients spoke to The Lawbook about prospects for a legislative fix this upcoming session.

Michelle Casady

Power Struggle Underway in AT&T Data Breach MDL

In early June, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred to U.S. District Judge Ada Brown a group of proposed class action lawsuits brought by dozens of lawyers over the AT&T data breach. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs — who are among the 73 million current and former customers who had their personal information released on the dark web — are already jockeying for leadership positions in the sprawling litigation. 

Michelle Casady

Ex-Highland Capital Management CEO Can’t Duck Contempt Finding

James Dondero had appealed to the Fifth Circuit in September 2022, arguing the bankruptcy judge wrongly found him in contempt of a temporary restraining order and awarded compensatory damages to Highland. Judge Leslie H. Southwick wrote that the “minor factual issues” Dondero raised on appeal weren’t enough to undo the sanction. “Undergirding our analysis of the sanctions award here is a recognition of the goal of such awards everywhere: ‘to do rough justice,’” he wrote.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Primexx Energy Wants Suit Over $788M Sale Tossed

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we offer an update from the most recent hearing in the lawsuit stemming from the $788 million sale of Primexx Energy, a threatened lawsuit over the death of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson yields a settlement, and six officers and directors of a Houston-based clinic see an end to a $285 million breach claim.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Oncor’s Transmission Line Appraisal Suit to Proceed

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Haynes Boone helps Fox News escape a defamation lawsuit stemming from the Allen Outlet Mall shooting, a Metroplex resident is sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for fraud over his allegedly bogus $200 million offer to buy Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit and a former San Antonio-area city councilwoman is vindicated by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Michelle Casady

Divided Court Wipes Out Dentist’s $16M Medicaid Fraud Penalty

During oral arguments, much of the court’s questioning centered around whether Texas had proven scienter, or that Dr. Richard Malouf knew he was violating the statute when he submitted 1,842 claims for reimbursement, which is required for the judgment against Malouf to stand. But that was not the issue that carried the day for Malouf.

Michelle Casady

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