Harvest House Publishers has welcomed the Supreme Court ruling it says brings an end to a six-year legal battle with members of The Local Church and its publishing arm, Living Stream Ministry (LSM).

The Supreme Court on Monday denied a petition appealing the Texas Supreme Court's refusal to rehear the complainants' previously dismissed action seeking more than $100 million in damages for alleged libel.

LSM and The Local Church congregations across the country had alleged that they had been wrongly accused of criminal conduct in the Encyclopedia of Cults and New Religions by John Ankerberg and John Weldon.

Harvest House President Bob Hawkins Jr. said in a statement that the company was "grateful beyond words to those many individuals, organizations and associations who understood this case and its significance and who stood with us by offering their legal support, encouragement and especially their prayers during this very long and arduous battle."

A further corporate statement expressed the hope that the court ruling would “embolden Christian authors to continue to write responsibly about controversial groups and topics” and called on The Local Church “to once and for all cease resorting to the secular courts to resolve theological disputes.”

In a statement, LSM and The Local Church said that the Supreme Court decision "undermines a fundamental protection of the Constitution," but the decision to deny a review of the action could not accurately be considered as an endorsement of the prior rulings.

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