Texas Supreme Court Rules Again in Local Church v. Harvest House Case

On February 16, 2007, the Texas Supreme Court denied a petition for rehearing that was submitted by the Local Church and Living Stream Ministry in their $136 million defamation lawsuit against Harvest House Publishers and authors John Ankerberg and John Weldon.

The purpose of the Local Church’s petition for rehearing was to urge the Texas Supreme Court to reconsider an earlier denial issued on December 1, 2006. In both petitions, the Local Church took issue with a Texas Court of Appeals (First District) opinion which ruled that Ankerberg and Weldon’s book Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions did not defame the Local Church.

The two rulings from the Texas Supreme Court firmly uphold the opinion written by the Texas Court of Appeals, which declared that the allegedly libelous statements in the Encyclopedia are not “of and concerning� the Local Church, and therefore “are not actionable.�

“With this ruling handed down by the Texas Supreme Court,� says Bob Hawkins, Jr., president of Harvest House Publishers, “we, as well as authors John Ankerberg and John Weldon, want to express our deep gratitude to so many who have stood by us throughout this arduous legal battle over the right to responsibly speak the truth in love. God has taught us all a great deal as we have depended upon Him every step of the way. May He receive all the glory for this victory and vindication.�

Read Another Article

Sect Expert: Moscow Krishnaites can fit in a telephone box
LDS Church negotiating for release of four missionaries abducted in Nigeria

Related News Articles Topic(s): Local Church Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Local Church Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog