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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.

Robert Morris in Jail, Gateway Church in Court: A Look the Multifront Battle Across Texas 

While Robert Morris, the convicted child sex offender and former pastor of Gateway Church, is sitting in a jail cell in Osage County, Oklahoma, the wake of his crime continues to ripple as the high-stakes litigation involving the megachurch and its elders is spreading and unfolding in courts across North Texas.

Morris, the church, its elders and congregants and Gateway’s insurance company are mired in lawsuits playing out in state and federal courts. Claims range from defamation to dishonesty about the allocation of tithe money to a dispute over retirement payments to Morris. 

The Texas Lawbook's Michelle Casady takes you inside the morass of civil litigation. 

Michelle Casady

Al Hill III’s Daughter Back in Dallas County Probate Court After Judge Lindsay, Fifth Circuit Sided with Her

Caroline M. Hill, a 21-year-old student at Vanderbilt University, is seeking access to the books and records for the Lyda Hunt-Margaret Trust. Her lawsuit alleges she is a contingent beneficiary of the trust, which should contain at least $15 million but has instead been “looted” and “dissolved.” Disputes involving members of the Hill family and the trusts that hold the family’s fortune are not new.

Michelle Casady

Houston Jury Awards $47.6M in Drilling Tool Patent Case

The jury returned its verdict March 5, finding Downhole Well Solutions' tools infringed three patents held by Impulse and that the infringement was willful. The jury rejected arguments that the patents were invalid. Impulse’s lead lawyer, John Keville of Sheppard, told The Lawbook the jury awarded the damages he requested “to the penny.”

Michelle Casady

In Texas Business Court’s First Jury Trial, Litigants Overcame a Flood and Five Courtroom Changes

At 7:04 a.m. Feb. 11, about two-and-a-half hours before testimony was set to resume in the first jury trial in the Texas Business Court, Judge Sofia Adrogué received a text message from a bailiff. 

“Good morning Judge,” Deputy James Williams’ text began. “Hate to bring you bad news this morning. ...”

The trial, intended to showcase the new court, suddenly became an exercise in crisis management. This is the behind-the-scenes story of the court’s inaugural jury trial that was filled with other unexpected firsts. 

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Exxon Gets SCOTUS Review in Climate Change Litigation

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday granted a petition for writ of certiorari that Exxon Mobil and Suncor filed more than six months ago that could have a major impact on climate-change litigation the oil companies are facing nationwide. We also provide details on a San Antonio investment company executive who copped to a nearly $70 million Ponzi scheme and a wrongful death lawsuit against Valero stemming from a refinery fire.

Michelle Casady

In Ex-VP’s Race Discrimination Case Against Exxon, Business Court’s Constitutionality Challenged

Echoing arguments made by opponents of the creation of the Texas Business Court, Houston lawyer Tony Buzbee has filed a motion arguing that the structure of the court is unconstitutional and that his client’s race discrimination case does not belong there. The Texas Supreme Court in August 2024 decided a similar challenge to the constitutionality of the Fifteenth Court of Appeals, finding the law that allowed for its creation was constitutional.

Michelle Casady

Litigation Roundup: Exxon’s Defamation Suit Against California AG Will Proceed

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, a team from King & Spalding notches an early win for Vistra in a dispute with the city of Sulphur Springs over the use of land that formerly housed a lignite mine, a healthcare executive faces prison after pleading guilty to fraud, and a $51 million win secured by Dean Omar Branham Shirley against Avon in a mesothelioma case is upheld on appeal in California.  

Michelle Casady

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