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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.

Steptoe Acquires Smyser Kaplan & Veselka ‘Lock, Stock and Barrel’

Craig Smyser, who cofounded SKV in 1995, said his firm had been approached several times over the years by national and international firms looking to expand into Texas. There’s one reason in particular why the negotiations with Steptoe, which began in May, ended with this merger: Steptoe was willing to take on every member of the SKV team.

“It’s an amazing law firm with a lot of magic,” Gwen Renigar, Steptoe's chair, said in an interview with The Lawbook. "The magic they had is magic I did not want to disturb."

Michelle Casady

SCOTX Rejects Justice’s Request to Remove Opponent, Justice Devine, From Ballot

The Texas Supreme Court appeared displeased with the timing of Second Court of Appeals Justice Brian Walker’s challenge to his opponent’s ability to appear on the March primary ballot. Justice Walker is running against incumbent Justice John Devine. In a ruling issued Thursday, the Texas Supreme Court denied mandamus relief, holding that even if Justice Walker promptly brought his challenge, the law requires Justice Devine be given an opportunity to cure any deficiencies in his application. “A timely challenge would advance rather than impede ballot access because it would alert all parties to any deficiencies and enable a candidate to correct them if he could,” the court wrote. “But when a party slumbers on his rights — or, indeed, does not slumber but carefully lies in wait — these principles are not advanced but impaired.”

Michelle Casady

Texas Supreme Court Hears UT Regents’ $51M Royalty Dispute

For 13 years, the University of Texas Board of Regents and IDEXX Laboratories seemed pleased with a royalty deal they inked for certain diagnostic tests used by veterinarians. Then an auditor told UT IDEXX had been underpaying what it owed under the structure of the deal. That finding led to litigation and a $51 million award for UT that was later undone by the Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston. The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to determine whether the contract binding the parties is ambiguous.

Michelle Casady

Mesa Airlines Settles Racial Profiling Suit

Issam Abdallah and Abderraouf Alkhawaldeh recently reached a confidential settlement with Mesa Airlines. The two men filed suit after their flight was delayed and subsequently canceled because of what they allege was racial profiling by a flight attendant and pilot. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor had tossed the claims against Mesa on summary judgment. The Fifth Circuit revived the lawsuit in October.

Michelle Casady

New Law Governing Judicial Candidate Disclosures Spawns Legal Challenges

The Texas Supreme Court is awaiting responses to two petitions for writ of mandamus in cases challenging whether judicial candidates can remain on the March primary ballot or if their alleged failures to comply with a new law means they must be stricken from the ballot. Lawyers involved with the cases have indicated more challenges could be coming as a Jan. 20 deadline for sending mail-in ballots looms.

Michelle Casady

Kaplan, Others Depart SKV, Launch Murphy Ball Stratton

A team of former partners at Smyser Kaplan & Veselka, including cofounder Lee Kaplan, have departed the boutique to launch a new firm, Murphy Ball Stratton. Members of the new firm, according to its website, are Land Murphy, Dane Ball, Michelle Stratton and Lee Kaplan.

Michelle Casady

Biggest Texas Verdicts of 2023

The types of cases that topped the list of damages awards in Texas this year were varied, but some of the usual suspects, like patent cases in the state’s Eastern and Western districts, occupy four of the Top 10 spots. Jurors in Harris County awarded damages totaling nearly $2 billion in three cases on the Top 10 list, and Jurors in the Western District doled out awards taking three of the Top 10 spots, totaling $857.7 million.

Michelle Casady

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