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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 Won’t Face Criminal Charges Over 737 Max Crashes

At a hearing in Fort Worth in early September, Chief U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor heard testimony from some of the wives, parents, brothers and daughters of the 346 people killed in two Boeing 737 Max plane crashes who pleaded with him to reject the government’s request to dismiss the criminal case against the manufacturer. In Thursday’s order dismissing the case, the judge ruled that the government “has not acted with bad faith, has given more than mere conclusory reasons for its dismissal, and has satisfied its obligations under the [Crime Victim’s Rights Act].” 

Michelle Casady

Freeman Resigns, Isgur Recused in GWG Holdings Bankruptcy

The flurry of activity in the GWG bankruptcy case comes just days after the former chief executive officer of the company’s subsidiary, Beneficient, Brad Heppner, was indicted by federal authorities in New York on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, falsification of records and making false statements to auditors. The bankruptcy case will be assigned to a different judge in the Southern District of Texas, Chief Judge Alia Moses has determined.

Michelle Casady

Ex-FBI Special Agent Wants $5M Defamation Suit Tossed

Two defamation lawsuits filed against critics of FBI Director Kash Patel are unfolding in federal court in Texas. In the Western District of Texas, Patel’s girlfriend has sued a former FBI special agent for allegedly defamatory statements made on a podcast, while in the Southern District of Texas, Patel himself has sued the former assistant director of counterintelligence for the FBI for comments he made during an MSNBC appearance. The defendants have enlisted Dorsey & Whitney, Dykema, Jackson Walker, Fletcher Held and First Amendment pros from SMU to fight the litigation. Binnall Law Group in Alexandria, Virginia, is representing the plaintiffs.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Samsung Hit with $191M Verdict in EDTX

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a former chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court files an amicus brief in the case where the governor is attempting to remove from office a Democrat who broke quorum in an attempt to block redistricting efforts, and a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals wades into a circuit split involving the National Labor Relations Board’s ability to award full compensatory damages.

Michelle Casady

Judge Liu Calls Out ‘Deplorable Management’ of Case, Points to Central Docket System as Culprit 

Travis County’s newest district court judge issued an order this week in a nearly 2-year-old dispute, stemming from a soured joint venture that was formed to buy and sell a luxury home in Austin, while granting and denying certain motions from both parties. 

But the real news in the three-page order entered Wednesday in Brandon Becker v. UpEquity Title came in the final three paragraphs, where Travis County District Judge Cory Liu, appointed to the bench by Gov. Greg Abbott in March, took to task the Travis County central docket system. 

Michelle Casady

AZA to Open Dallas Office in January 

The firm, which launched in Houston in 1993, was patient about opening a second office. John Zavitsanos said the amount of intellectual property work the firm is handling made Dallas a clear location for expansion. (Photo by Sharon Ferranti/The Texas Lawbook)

Michelle Casady

Mavs Hire Jackson Walker in Stars Lawsuit 

To lead the high-profile breach of contract lawsuit the Dallas Mavericks ownership filed against the Dallas Stars ownership Tuesday, the basketball club’s General Counsel and Chief Ethics Officer Sekou Lewis has tapped the law firm Jackson Walker. Partners Charles “Chip” Babcock, Chris Bankler and associate Sarah Starr are representing the Dallas Sports Group and Radical Arena in the litigation against DSE Hockey Club. 

Michelle Casady

Texas Hires Keller Postman for Tylenol Suit

Plaintiffs law firm Keller Postman, which has its sole Texas outpost in Austin, has been hired by the state to pursue a deceptive trade practices lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue over their marketing of Tylenol. Three lawyers from the firm’s office in Washington, D.C., and Ashley Keller from its Chicago office all signed on to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Panola County. 

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Zero Times Zero is Not $26.9M

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, three former federal judges in Texas join more than two dozen of their colleagues in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, the parties involved in an East Texas water fight reach an agreement and a math lesson from the Dallas Court of Appeals wipes out a $26.9 million prejudgment interest award.  

Michelle Casady

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