San Antonio lawyer Thomas J. Henry’s contentious divorce case dismissed, court file sealed

The motion to dismiss the case that the pair filed is not publicly available because of an order sealing the entire court file.

State District Judge Angelica Jimenez issued the order July 13, the same day Thomas Henry had been scheduled to submit to questions from Azteca Henry’s lawyers during a day-long deposition. Jimenez dismissed the case “with prejudice,” meaning it can’t be refiled.

Susan Myres, a Houston family lawyer who wasn’t involved in the case, said there are “so many variables” that could have affected how the Henrys resolved the matter.

“It could have been a settlement and they didn’t want the world to know what that settlement is,” said Myres, who has practiced for more than 35 years and is past president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. “It could be that there was money exchanged or maybe an agreement that impacted their children.”

The Henrys have two adult children.

Azteca Henry petitioned for divorce in November 2019, but Thomas denied they were even married. The two wed in 1999 and divorced in 2005. Azteca, 43, said they continued to live together until the summer of 2019 when Thomas, 59, moved out of the Anaqua Springs Ranch house they shared.

Azteca has said they had a “common law marriage,” which, under Texas law, is considered a union when two adults consent to being married without the formality of obtaining a marriage license. It’s also referred to as an “informal marriage.”

In a court filing last year, Thomas said he “vehemently denies” the existence of an informal marriage and called the claim “dubious.”

On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio lawyer Thomas J. Henry’s divorce case hinges on whether he’s even married

Azteca sought the divorce after Henry was seen with a new flame — Evelin Crossland, 31.

Azteca filed the divorce petition using the pair’s initials — but backwards — to keep it from attracting attention. The case remained out of the spotlight until last summer. That’s when Crossland’s husband, Drew Crossland, alleged in court papers that Thomas was bankrolling litigation brought by Evelin against an oil field services company the Crosslands owned.

Drew Crossland accused her of engaging in an “extramarital and adulterous relationship with an affluential and infinitely wealthy attorney who is funding her litigious efforts to harass her estranged husband.”

Thomas wasn’t mentioned by name in the document, but Drew Crossland attached as exhibits social-media postings showing Thomas and Evelin Crossland’s ostentatious relationship.

Thomas is a ubiquitous presence in South and Central Texas, appearing in TV commercials, newspaper, internet ads and on billboards for his law firm, which employs more than 200 lawyers.

One commercial had shown him hopping from Learjet to Rolls-Royce as graphics touted the giant legal awards his clients received and the massive fees his firm pocketed.

He’s also gained attention for throwing lavish parties. He “presented” a Maxim Super Bowl party in 2017 in the Houston area, threw a 56th birthday bash for himself in 2018 in Miami featuring entertainers Cardi B and DJ Khaled, and hosted a 25th anniversary party for his law firm at the Convention Center in 2018. Perhaps most famously, he spent $6 million on a quinceañera for his daughter, Maya, in 2016.

Henry also appeared with Azteca and their two children a few years ago in a YouTube reality series he self-funded called “Hangin’ with Los Henrys,” which chronicled the goings-on in the household. The show has since been taken down.

On ExpressNews.com: How Thomas J. Henry’s mixed up in fight over San Antonio oil field services company

Just days after the San Antonio Express-News reported on the Crosslands’ feud and the Henrys’ case, though, Thomas moved to seal the court file and close the court proceedings to the public.

In court papers, Thomas said Azteca worked as an employee of his law firm and signed two agreements that require her to maintain confidentiality pertaining to him and the firm. She had access to “protected financial information, trade secrets and proprietary information,” one of the document said.

She violated the employment contract by taking client files, law firm financial records and Thomas’ personal tax returns, his attorneys alleged.

The two sides were still arguing over sealing the court file and closing the court proceedings as recently as June 15 at a hearing held via Zoom.

Richard Orsinger, one of Thomas’ attorneys, suggested state District Judge Cynthia Marie Chapa should require all documents in the case be filed under seal. If any party believed a document was not subject to confidentiality and should be unsealed, Orsinger said the party could file a motion to unseal the document and then court would hold a hearing.