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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 DOBS Gets Whopping $966M Verdict Against J&J in California 

Dean Omar Branham Shirley, which has racked up numerous wins on behalf of clients who allege Johnson & Johnson’s baby powder caused their mesothelioma, has done it again. 

In a verdict returned by a California jury Monday evening, jurors determined Mae Moore, who died in December 2021 of mesothelioma, was exposed to Johnson’s baby powder or Shower to Shower, a body powder product, that contained asbestos, that the company was negligent in selling the product and that it was a substantial cause of Moore contracting mesothelioma.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Fifth Circuit Revives Securities Fraud Suit

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Jerry Jones takes an “L” in his latest bid to bring an early end to a sexual assault lawsuit, American Airlines is hit with a permanent injunction in an ESG-related investor suit, and a Houston-based furniture company secures a $2.1 million final judgment.

Michelle Casady

GWG Bondholders Slam Dismissal Bids in RICO Suit

In four separate filings, GWG bondholders this week spoke out forcefully against requests from Jackson Walker, Porter Hedges, David Jones and Elizabeth Freeman to dismiss racketeering claims against them, doubling down on allegations that each party was enriched by keeping secret a “live-in, intimate relationship” between then-bankruptcy judge Jones and bankruptcy lawyer Freeman. 

Michelle Casady

Texas Panel Says State Law Bars El Paso Conspiracy Suit in Cross-Border Dispute

The case turned on whether Texas or Mexico law applied to the issue of res judicata, which precludes parties from relitigating disputes once there’s been a final judgment on the merits. The Eighth Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 opinion, determined the trial court gets to decide which law applies and it was not incorrect in determining the litigation of a related suit in Juarez, Mexico, barred this one in El Paso under Texas law.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Family Feud Over Houston Texans Ownership Extends via $100M Suit Against NFL

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a Dallas lawyer secures an important ruling in a case involving NCAA eligibility for an Indiana University football player from Mesquite, and the brother of the Houston Texans principal owner hires Tony Buzbee to bring a $100 million tortious interference lawsuit against the National Football League. There is also coverage of non-football-related cases.

Michelle Casady

EDTX Jury Hits Samsung with $78.5M Verdict in Infringement Case

Anonymous Media Research Holdings had filed suit against Samsung Electronics Co. and Samsung Electronics America in September 2023, alleging infringement of two patents covering technology used to measure media consumption. U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap presided over the case that began with jury selection Monday and ended with Friday’s verdict. A related patent infringement case brought by Anonymous Media has been filed in the Northern District of California, and is currently on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria granted Roku’s motion for judgment on the pleadings in that case on Sept. 12.

Michelle Casady

AT&T, Nokia Get $166.3M Infringement Verdict Axed

Chief Judge Kimberly A. Moore authored the court’s 15-page opinion that was issued Wednesday. She wrote that Jonathan Wells, who was Finesse’s infringement expert at trial, “offered no clear or detailed explanation for his contradictory testimony.” A jury had awarded Finesse the lump sum damages after finding AT&T and Nokia infringed two patents related to intermodulation interference, a longstanding problem for wireless networks.

Michelle Casady

Texas Judge Tosses $112M Infringement Verdict Against Samsung 

In a three-page order, U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III granted Samsung’s motion for judgment as a matter of law that it had not infringed asserted claims in three patents covering technology used in smart phones and smart home appliances. The judge also invalidated asserted claims in two of the patents in the Sept. 18 order. 

Michelle Casady

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